


Reign of Shadows: Season 6

by Xandyflare



Series: Reign of Shadows [10]
Category: AdventureQuest Worlds, Destiny (Video Games), Fire Emblem Series, Reign of Shadows (Fanfiction), Rockman X | Mega Man X, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, If you're a Mara stan avert your eyes, Kell of Kells, M/M, Mara do not interact, Multi, Mutual Pining, Nightmares, Self-Doubt, Self-Sacrifice, Slight amounts of romance, Spoilers for previous seasons/installments, action adventure, mentions of abuse, trauma issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 12:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24969550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xandyflare/pseuds/Xandyflare
Summary: It's been labelled the "Incident Unknown Case". Sixteen people were kidnapped, and only seven came back two months later. One of which was stuck in an indefinitive comatose state. And with barely any time for some to recover, the elite Blade of Marmora is called out to finally figure out what has happened to the Dreaming City since the absence of both the Young Wolf and the Regent-Commander Petra Venj.Meanwhile, the Eliksni are scrambled and lost without a leader. Princess Allura, referred to as the 'White Messiah' amongst them, wants nothing more than to help them. But she soon finds that they want her help not as an aid to the leader, but being the leader itself.And finally, these two paths will connect at the edge of time itself.SEMI-SPOILERS FOR DANGANRONPA HD: DEATH GAMBIT AND ALL PREVIOUS SEASONS!
Relationships: Keith (Voltron)/Uldren Sov, Sertia Mim (Reign of Shadows)/Cypress (Reign of Shadows)
Series: Reign of Shadows [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1165988





	1. Entering the Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Characters in chapter:
> 
> -Uldren Sov  
> -Keith  
> -Kosmo  
> -Nythera  
> -Leo  
> -Cypress  
> -Kamui  
> -Krolia  
> -Jolyon Till the Rachis  
> -Sertia Mim  
> -Petra Venj  
> -Kurami  
> -Andal Brask (mentioned)  
> -Parisia (mentioned)  
> -Mara Sov (mentioned)  
> -Faro (mentioned)
> 
> Chapter summary:
> 
> The Blade of Marmora enters the Dreaming City and meets what's left of its defenders.

The Alliance shuttle held a good twenty people as it crossed through space. Inside, the passengers either stood upright, holding onto hand grips descending from the ceiling, or sat down into chairs jutting out from the sides. Kosmo, meanwhile, sat at his master’s feet, who kept a good grip on him.

Uldren stood at one of the hand grips, gripping it tight with his right hand. He wore his Blade official outfit, but did not put up his mask yet. He was looking out of the glass of the shuttle, watching the stars outside.

Keith was right next to Uldren, holding a hand grip as he stood as well. Leo was sitting in one of the chairs, calmly reading his book. Cypress was a few chairs away, arms crossed and looking at her feet. Nythera was at the end of the row, seeming to touch up on her facial appearance. And their newest member Kamui was seeming to write in a small journal. All of them were wearing their respective Blade outfits as their leader Krolia flew the shuttle itself.

For the first time in a long time, the Blade of Marmora was sent out on an authorized Alliance mission. The Dreaming City had requested for aid, and the Blades were a perfect fit. They had already been working to stabilize the Reef during a time of crisis, so reaching out further to the Awoken seemed appropriate.

But Uldren would admit that he had his fears. Not about what was going on inside of the city. This was the first chance that he would see his sister Mara Sov since he was revived as a Guardian and taken away from the Dreaming City by Keith a little less than a year ago.

Initially, Uldren Sov went by the name Deimos to hide his identity. Then, he switched back to Uldren because it was familiar. But for some reason, he felt wrong to have the last name Sov. Perhaps he had become so disconnected from his past self that his mind recoiled with disgust at any semblance of it.

The Reef’s Paladins had sent them off. Three of them seemed to brush them away, as if happy they were leaving. However, the Royal Armada Paladin Kamala Rior not only shook his hand, she actually lingered in not letting go for a moment. And when she did, he could swear he saw her smile a bit at him. But regardless, the four would look over the Reef as they would enter the Dreaming City.

The disappearance of the acting Regent-Commander Petra Venj still has affected the Dreaming City today. Whatever has been happening within it for the past year or so has been completely shrouded in mystery. At this point, it could even be considered to be abandoned by both the Awoken people and the Alliance council.

The council and the Blade of Marmora were asked by the Paladins multiple times for help in investigating the Dreaming City. Up until this point, the first year of the council being established as best described as hectic and time-consuming. There was the initial establishment, then the issues around the Vanguard being a legitimate power under the council or not, and then the Tangled Shore Murders and ensuing political outcry from both Nohr and Hoshido, and most recently, the disappearance and recovering of the sixteen Alliance members. There had been no time to consider spelunking into unknown grounds up until now.

Thinking of the disappearances, Uldren frowned. It’s been a good two weeks since he was able to return home. The bodies of the deceased were delivered as promised by the head researcher. Many people were commonly found mourning their lost loved ones within the Tower.

At once, he suddenly blinked. He had called the Tower home on instinct. But was it truly his home? Or was their destination where he really belonged?

He’s never questioned his identity like this before. It must be anxiety from going to what was his home in his past life. It would be best to try and forget about it before they arrived.

To distract himself, Uldren asked to nobody in particular, “You guys ready?”

Leo turned another page. “I believe so,” he responded without a hint of emotion.

Nythera looked up from the mirror in her hand. “He is. He’s just been disappointed since Andal Brask’s trial.”

Uldren groaned. “At the outcome?”

“He’s one of the many who believed Andal Brask got off easy. Like Adam Wyrick for example.”

Right, Adam. A few days after the survivors of the strange kidnapping incident returned and just before the bodies were delivered to the loved ones, it was publicly announced that Adam Wyrick had attempted to kill Andal Brask. He had admitted to it outright to the council the day he returned. His name was disgraced, and he was quickly demoted from directly working for the Alliance council. However, he couldn’t be pressed for criminal charges, due to the already controversial standings of Andal Brask’s trial. Whether he wanted to or not, Adam Wyrick quickly became an idol within the radical groups that believed justice was not properly served on Andal Brask. That’s why Adam got off easy, but has been facing a severely rocky relationship with his significant other Takashi. Many are suspecting they will break off from each other again.

Hoshido and Nohr made up most of the radicals Adam sided with, including the Nohrian prince who sat amongst them in the ship now. Generally, the side who’s been pressing the council for a retrial is made up of the countries involved in the Otherworlder War five years ago. Takumi had been a very popular figure in the war, so for his murderer to not face jail time but house arrest pissed off a lot of people.

Queen Hinoka was originally satisfied with the results of the trial, but seems to have changed her mind and is one of the many calling for a more severe punishment. A lot of people think she was pressured by her kingdom for proper vengeance for her brother’s murder. After all, Hoshido was always about honor, and the way that Takumi died made the entire population declare Andal a terrorist and the incarnation of a soulless demon.

The Alliance has seemed to try and shove this issue under the rug. However, that’s only made the already hot debate come close to imploding on itself. At this point, they either needed to address it publicly, or call a retrial to give Andal a more severe sentence for his crimes.

At once, Uldren cringed. His gut had suddenly twisted at the thought of Andal facing court again for crimes barely in his control. He wondered if Andal thought he deserved to be punished just because he was a puppet in the crime.

Diablo-5 was completely forgotten by the media coverage, too. His name wasn’t even included in the official reports, along with Shandra’s. He was sent on his merry way by the Alliance with no memory of the Aerioi or the Umbra Mondo. In fact, if Uldren remembers correctly, he’s one of the many calling for the retrial. How fate works as a cruel mistress.

“Did you guys see the news just before we left?” Everyone looked as Jolyon Till stepped in from the cockpit. He was cloaked in mostly black and torn clothing, a sniper rifle on his back.

Jolyon Till wasn’t part of the Blades. However, he’s hung out with them enough to be considered within the friend group, so to say. He doesn’t seem to vehemently hate Uldren for his past life’s actions, so that helps in terms of relationships.

“No.” Kamui looked up from his journal. “What is it?”

“Apparently, Andal Brask got assaulted in the streets by a group of radicals calling for the retrial. They’re also accusing the Alliance of ignoring a serious problem they caused.”

Uldren winced at that. “It’s hard to think that I could have been in that position if I was revived at the wrong time.”

Keith frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I killed Cayde-6 from this timeline, remember? Even though there’s multiple reasons I’ve never been focused on by these justice-mongers, those reasons did not exist a year or so ago. If I was revived then, and I was recognized...well, I could be in the same position Andal is in now.”

“Is it wrong to feel pity for him?” Nythera asked. “I mean, he did kill one of our own, but-”

“Yes.” Cypress finally spoke up. “He is a monster that deserves this.”

Leo nodded in agreement. “Indeed. As Nythera said, Takumi was one of the Blades. I’m surprised that not all of you are praising the people for acting where the Alliance did not.”

“For what, smashing his face into the pavement?” Jolyon questioned. “That’s not the way justice should be done!”

“It is the way that it has to be because of a lack of action!” Leo snarled back.

Uldren quickly raised his hand that was not gripping the hand grip. “We’re not bringing Alliance politics into the Dreaming City with us. There will be enough drama waiting for us there, so let’s keep a lid on personal matters.”

Leo’s eyes continued to narrow, staring down Jolyon. Finally, he heaved a sigh that implied he was tired of this debate. He returned to the book in his lap as Jolyon began to ignore him as well.

Uldren looked over at Kamui, eager to dissuade any continuation of the debacle. “Um...Kamui, what’s that journal you’ve got there?”

“Hm?” Kamui lifted his head. “Oh, I’m just recording some stuff. Keeping a track record of our duration in the Dreaming City would be beneficial for our report when we return to the Alliance, correct?”

Nythera watched Kamui begin to write again. “You write exceedingly fast. What Vallite school did you go to?”

Kamui suddenly looked extremely nervous. “Oh, you know...a good one. I believe it was...that old academy that shut down a few years ago.”

Leo perked up. “Oh! Acrine Academy, I believe? It shut down due to the old building infrastructure, yes, but I believe it is being remodelled with modern tech.”

Kamui made a disgusted face. “Geesh, Valla’s really modernizing?”

Keith frowned. “I mean, its king is a Reploid, no?”

“Yea, but Valla’s a kingdom of powerful songstresses and draconic heritage! I’m worried that technology will wash it away.”

Leo chuckled. “That worry has made my brother hold off on completely modernizing, as well. On the other hand, Hoshido’s embraced the modern technology, and has become a popular place for tourists within Alliance territory. I believe some other countries outside of Alliance territory, like Renais and Askr, may be doing the same, but I’m not sure. Contact has not been kept up since the Otherworlder War, and they did not seek to join the Alliance once it was created, instead choosing to remain independent.”

“You make it sound like the Alliance is all one big country,” Uldren joked.

“Well, it sort of is!” Leo argued. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Well, I won’t deny it,” Uldren admitted.

Leo turned back to Kamui. “I’ve never attended Acrine Academy, but I’ve heard it taught its students very well! What did you think of it, as a student?”

“Well...I think it was fine the way it was,” Kamui admitted. “No technology was needed for me to pass my studies with flying colors.”

“So you’re a star student?” Nythera remarked. “You really didn’t give that impression when we first met you. What’s Valla like?”

“A-Admittedly, it’s been a while since I’ve been in my homeland,” Kamui stuttered. “It’s hard to remember stuff beyond my academic years.”

“Have you thought about going to college?” Leo suddenly questioned. “If you were in Acrine Academy, I think you would do well in Nohr colleges. They’ve opened new curriculums for robotics and programming, so you wouldn’t need to move to a new world altogether to study in that field.”

“You can move from academies to colleges?” Kamui questioned.

“Of course!” Nythera replied. “Your academies are what we call ‘high school’. When we graduate high school, we can go to college to pursue diplomas that will prove to future employers we know what we brag about.” She paused. “I’ve never proceeded beyond a mage college, so I’m not exactly on the level of knowledge as some people, however.”

Kamui chuckled. “That’s fine. I’m okay with skipping college for now.”

The ship rattled back and forth a bit, and everyone standing stumbled along with it. Uldren reached out on instinct to pull Keith close to him by the waist to keep him standing, while Jolyon tumbled and fell backwards onto his back, falling on his sniper rifle in an uncomfortable position.

Uldren looked over. “You good, Jolyon?”

“Y-Yea...Just banged my back on my rifle.” Jolyon began to get up. “I’ll be fine.”

The ship rocked back and forth, and the familiar sound of it landing echoed throughout the inside. Everyone began to get up or check their weapons and gear. Most of the eyes were either on the exit or at the cockpit.

After a few moments, Krolia emerged from the cockpit. She was wearing her Blade official outfit identical to Uldren and Keith. However, Uldren was the only one who had two knives on his body, his primary Luxite knife on his belt and an emergency one strapped to his left thigh.

“Everyone in here alright?” She asked.

“Just a bit of turbulence upon landing,” Leo calmly replied. “We are all okay.”

“Good. We’ll need to be very cautious on entering the Dreaming City. Our first goal is to see if there are any survivors within the city. It’s been a year since whatever happened here took place, and this entire place went dark. We don’t have any idea of what we’ll find, so you guys better be prepared for a worst case scenario.”

Kamui got up, saluting. “Of course, leader! You can count on us!”

The rest of the other Blades began to get up. Uldren released the hand grip, pulling his Blade mask over his face. Keith made the same motion next to him as the back of the ship opened.

Uldren could see that they’ve landed on a grassy cliff. They were overlooking a large white bridge that headed forward through a large mass of mist. At the end of it stood a white building overlooking the entirety of the Dreaming City. In the sky hung a gray circle with light streaming from it onto the area.

For some reason, Uldren did not feel at home at all. In fact, he felt quite awkward standing here. Maybe it was because he did not remember this place. It was still his home, right?

He felt a hand on his shoulder. When he looked, Keith was actually pointing to the side. “That’s where I found your body.”

Uldren looked in that direction. “Really? You’ve been here before?”

“Pulled Pork led me here, and we found your body in that general area.” Keith suddenly laughed. “When you were revived, you stared at me in such a confused and curious manner. You’ve really changed since then.”

“Is that a good thing?”

Keith smiled. “To me, yes.”

“Then my change is fine by me if it makes you happy.” Uldren returned the warm smile.

They were interrupted by Nythera from behind. “Hey, lovebirds! Don’t we have a job to do?”

Uldren blinked before nodding. “Right. I think the best course of action is to investigate that building.” He pointed to the structure across the bridge.

Cypress walked up as well. “It seems to be located in the center of the Dreaming City.”

Kamui looked out in the area. “I can’t see any movement. It looks completely abandoned.”

“I can sense something in the air, too,” Leo continued. “Something dark and malicious.”

“What happened here?” Keith questioned softly to himself.

All of a sudden, gunfire erupted from all sounds. A powerful shrieking noise threatened to implode their eardrums and actually stunned the more sensitive Keith and Krolia at first. Jolyon immediately tackled Krolia to the ground as Uldren did the same with Keith.

Leo opened his tome and shot his hand up. Something got slammed with a plant jutting out from the ground, and the shrieking noise came again. Uldren watched as something black and warped flew through the air before landing with a harsh smack on the ground.

Cypress sat up. “The hell?!” She snapped.

Before the Blades could figure out what was happening, someone female spoke up. “Quickly! This way!”

Krolia got up at first, a hand over one of her ears. “You heard them!” She snapped.

The group scrambled up onto their feet and darted for the foliage around them. Someone firing their gun covered them, more of the blackened creatures lunging and subsequently being riddled with bullets.

Somebody was crouching in the bushes once they tumbled forward. She was an Awoken woman, with vibrant blue hair in a braid over one shoulder. She wore the soft purple color of the Reef as she clutched a pulse rifle in both hands.

Uldren turned around, breathing hard under his mask. He reached his hand out, and his Arc staff came to his palm. He gripped the staff before beginning to spin it, charging back out.

Now that he wasn’t running from them, Uldren could get a better look at the creatures. They seem to twitch and warp with a blue aura while their bodies were as black as the void. They seemed to have no faces, but a white light that they “stared” at him with. None of them seemed to be the same species, but all had the same complexion.

Pulled Pork’s voice came worried. “Taken.”

Uldren hit one down with his staff. “Taken?” He repeated.

As he began to swing around his staff and take them out, Pulled Pork explained. “They’re creatures created by the Darkness of this timeline. Their forces are made of all kinds of species: Vex, Fallen, even human! You name it, there’s Taken.”

“But why are they in the Dreaming City?”

“I dunno!” Pulled Pork responded as Uldren threw the last Taken into the ground. “But they could do with why the City went dark.”

With that, he stood alone in the small clearing the shuttle landed in. His Arc staff crackled, then disappeared from his grip. Panting, he deactivated the Blade mask to allow himself to breathe more freely.

The female voice came from behind. “Y...Your Highness?” When Uldren turned to look at the Awoken woman who had originally opened fire, she immediately raised her pulse rifle.

“At ease!” Quickly remembering the general Awoken opinion of him, he immediately raised his hands. “I’m...not exactly Uldren Sov.”

“...Yea.” The woman slowly lowered the pulse rifle. “You had just used the power of the Traveler. You’re a Guardian.”

Uldren nodded. “I’m not the Uldren Sov you know. He’s long behind me.”

“...Sertia Mim.” She fully lowered her gun. “I’m a Corsair under her Majesty Queen Mara.”

“You’ve survived this long?” Uldren noted. “Have to say I’m impressed.”

This just made Sertia frown. “You really don’t know what’s going on within this place, do you?”

“What do you mean? What’s happened to the Dreaming City? It’s been a year since communication stopped.”

“...That Young Wolf person used to come here, with some friends of theirs.” Sertia looked out towards the white structure. “They don’t come here anymore. Tell me, what happened?”

“...They’re gone,” Uldren simply said. “A lot has been happening outside.”

Sertia huffed. “I wouldn’t be able to know. Every three weeks, I come back to this place. I always come here, without any control over my body. You are the first thing that’s changed in this curse.”

“Curse?” Kamui slowly walked up, followed by the other Blades.

“Tell me. Are the Taken still active outside of the Dreaming City?”

“Not anymore,” Krolia replied. “A powerful darkness destroyed the Darkness you know. The outside world’s really changed in the year the Dreaming City went dark from the rest of us.”

Sertia sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of. The Taken suddenly grew erratic and violent when the year you speak of began. Like they lost their leader. Since then...the Dreaming City’s been stuck in a causal loop with no monitor. Nobody benefits from this anymore. Not even the Taken, who’ve lost control like the rest of us. Every three weeks, whether you’ve lived through it or died...it starts again. I’ve came back to this place every loop. I’m one of the few lucky enough to have not died and proceeded to be stuck in an endless cycle of rebirth and death.”

Leo frowned. “But if you are reborn, shouldn’t you just not take the actions that hurt you?”

“That’s the problem!” Sertia suddenly exclaimed, making Leo step back. “You can’t control your actions! Once you die, you’re stuck like that. You can’t even choose between going left or right. You just take the same actions that killed you, because you have no other option.”

Cypress showed the first emotion in her voice since Uldren’s seen her after returning from the incident: sympathy. “So if you die or are wounded, you are forced onto this path.”

“I’ve always walked down this stretch of woods, and I’ve always dispatched a large group of Taken on my own here. But I always got injured.”

Keith looked surprised. “And this time, you didn’t.”

“As long as the causal loop does not reset with you all in it, I believe you now can change what happens within the next three weeks.” Sertia frowned. “It is always the same three weeks.”

“I’m so sorry for you and your people having been through this so many times,” Uldren softly stated.

Sertia suddenly gave a dry and bitter laugh, and the sadness and exhaustion were visible on her expression. “Me and my people? This has happened so many times that I’m one of the only ‘people’ left. All of the other corsairs just want to be put out of their misery. I don’t even wear my helmet anymore because I sometimes wish the end will come sooner instead of forcing me to repeat these three weeks over and over.”

“I don’t understand,” Kamui questioned. “What about your queen? Isn’t she still alive?”

“Oh, that bitch would let us rot in hell, for all she cares. We don’t matter to her anymore.” Sertia made a gesturing movement to the structure. “While we replay our deaths or force ourselves through every week of agony for those last shreds of hope, she just sits in the shadows and does not even face us in person!”

Jolyon’s scowl twisted. “So when Petra and I were sent to retrieve Uldren, we could have instead been trying to help you?”

“...I don’t know what goes on in her mind,” Sertia muttered. “Or if you two could have done anything. All I know is that she doesn’t care what happens to us or the Dreaming City.”

The Blades went silent. They regarded the tired Corsair before then with varying levels of sympathy. While they had been dealing with the Reef on the outside, not a single one was aware of a great tragedy and cause of suffering within the Awoken people.

The crinkling of plastic made Uldren look behind him. Cypress was pulling something out from her data storage. It was a candy bar. Then, she held it out to Sertia silently.

“...What is that?” Sertia asked.

“Food,” Cypress simply answered. “You can have it. The same three weeks with no change probably means you grow tired of the foods you eat during it.”

Sertia slowly reached out for the candy bar. Once it exchanged hands and Cypress made it obvious by lowering her arm that she did not want it back, she began to tear through the wrapping and devour the bar like an animal.

Sertia was crying. Uldren flinched as tears rolled down her face while she ate the bar as fast as possible. It was as if she was starving, and she most likely was. It added an extra pang of guilt to his chest. Could he have helped her if he stayed within the Dreaming City once he was revived?

When Uldren looked to the side, he noticed Jolyon was staring down at his feet. He could tell from a mile away that the Awoken sniper felt ashamed. Slowly, he raised a hand to place it on Jolyon’s shoulder.

“It’s not your fault the city is like this,” he said quietly.

“Then why does it feel like it is?” Jolyon questioned in return. “Why does it feel like I could have done something to help my people, but I was just instead delegated to a messenger boy?”

Uldren gave a grimace. “You just weren’t informed, that’s all.”

“But WHY? Why would her Majesty not tell the outside world this was happening to her own people?”

Uldren didn’t know how to answer. He didn’t know Mara in any way, shape, or form. Instead, he just gave a sad expression, and looked back at the Corsair they had been talking to.

Krolia was now in a discussion with her. “What about the others?”

Sertia blinked. “There are no others.”

“But there are other Corsairs trapped in the time loop, right?”

“Oh, they aren’t Corsairs anymore. Now, they’re just broken women who wish for the end of this. The same death, every three weeks? It destroys you in ways war never will. Because war will at least kill you and let you stay dead. Here, you have to repeat the same motions that lead you to death, even if you know what it will bring to you.”

“So you’re the only one left?” Nythera questioned.

“The only one who has any sort of will to continue,” Sertia corrected. “All they want is for their next death to be the final one.”

“Where are they?” Krolia asked.

Sertia turned and pointed. “There’s a cavern system a few miles north. That’s where most of them are.”

“Do you think they’ll be happy to see us?” Krolia questioned.

“Happy? They’ll be elated. Any change for the first time in more than a year would bring joy to even the most despairing.”

“Then take us to them. Let us help you all out of this time loop.”

Sertia began to cry uncontrollably again. At once, Jolyon moved to hug her. She flung herself into his arms, collapsing while weeping. He stared at her quivering form with sympathy, unsure of what to do besides stroke her braided hair.

After a few minutes of comfort, Sertia began to lead them off. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying. The rest of the Blades began to follow her through the grassy environment of the Dreaming City.

As they walked, Uldren looked over the cliff at the structure. Upon consideration, he decided it was maybe the castle Queen Mara resided in. However, he could identify Taken all around. It must have been conquered by their forces.

Sertia noticed him staring at it. “We don’t go there anymore.”

“What is that place?” Uldren questioned.

“The Keep of Voices, where the last Ahamkara resides. We do not have the same power as a group of Guardians, so we cannot possibly dream of fighting her. Not only that, we are sort of stuck repeating our own deaths and actions. We just don’t have the ability to face her.”

Uldren looked confused. “Ahamkara, you say?”

“Great wish dragons from long ago. They would grant any wish that a human heart desired, but most warped these wishes into undesirable results. They were hunted down and slaughtered, since they were too dangerous to be left alive. However, I believe your past self found a small female dragon named Riven, and brought it back here. She survived the hunt under the Queen’s care because of that. But she has been corrupted by the power of the Taken here. And with an ill wish by the Taken, she created this hell.”

At once, Uldren’s face fell. Kamui flinched behind him at the thought of massacring dragons. Cypress merely turned her head, looking a bit queasy at the thought.

“Then is it my fault the city is like this?” Uldren asked.

“No!” Sertia quickly answered. “It’s not! The Taken would have conquered this place anyways. Just with a different strategy.”

Keith tried to change the subject as he watched his lover. “So, who leads the Taken?”

“It...used to be Savathûn,” Sertia explained. “Have you all heard of her?”

“The Witch Queen,” Leo answered. “One of the three Hive god siblings. Along with her sister Xivu Arath, God of War, and Oryx, the Taken King.” He noticed Nythera staring oddly at him. “What? I can allow myself to study the past of other countries, right?”

“You’re right,” Sertia answered. “She caused this causal loop. However, she had suddenly vanished. The Taken became suddenly leaderless, only able to follow the words of her daughter stationed here, Dûl Incaru.”

“That was more than a year ago, correct?” Nythera asked. “That must have been when the Umbra Mondo attacked this timeline and removed most of its powerful opposition.”

“Savathûn must have suffered the same fate as so many other opposing forces did,” Kamui remarked. “But that just left the Dreaming City spiraling out of control.”

“So why do the Taken still linger here?” Krolia asked. “Are they caught in the causal loop Riven created as well?”

“Correct,” Sertia responded. “Even Dûl Incaru cannot resist the time loop. The Taken in that clearing earlier, I have fought many times over. They are prisoners here, just as we Corsairs are.”

“But why did Savathûn attack the Dreaming City in such a way in the first place?” Cypress suddenly questioned. “What was the gain for her?”

Leo smirked. “Simple. Power.”

Jolyon blinked. “What?”

“The power of Sword-Logic, of course. When you kill a being, you gain its power. That is a Hive philosophy, and Savathûn was a Hive god. So if that same being was to die over and over nonstop, you would have a constant gain of power.”

“An entire city of this process would make quite the infinite generator for a god,” Nythera commented. “So even the Taken here are used as little batteries.”

“But without a way to regulate the power, it’s gone haywire,” Jolyon stated. “Once Savathûn disappeared, so did any means to stop the causal loop.”

“But there has to be a way!” Kamui exclaimed, and almost tripped over a tree root. “People deserve the right to die! Some god can’t take that away and prolong suffering!”

Nythera made a small snort. “The right to die on your own terms...”

“H-Hey! There’s something funny about that?!”

Sertia suddenly stopped. “Well. We’re here.”

The Blades looked forward. In the rocks was a gaping maw. It led straight into a wide cave filled with oil lanterns and blankets. Even some technological terminals were jury-rigged, but not in the best conditions. The Corsairs here really weren’t working with much.

Cypress did not have any hesitation in entering. She was the first to begin stepping inside. Sertia quickly followed after, prompting the rest to follow suite.

Uldren began to raise his hand to activate his mask. He suddenly had a desire to hide his face before any of the Corsairs saw. However, his mind completely blanked once he looked into the cave.

There were about twenty Corsairs, all of them completely silent. They either had their helmets on or off, and some laid on the ground with their guns to the side. It was like they were dead, or at least wanted to be. The smell of spoiled food and blood emanated from even further back, making it feel as if the cave was spinning.

All of them were looking at the group having arrived. Slowly, they were standing up, eyes wide and mouths agape. It was as if they had been in darkness, and a light had suddenly appeared for the first time in an eternity.

Uldren slowly raised his hands to communicate friendliness. He said nothing. He couldn’t at all. It was like his throat had closed up and prevented a single word from coming out.

One Corsair suddenly began crying. She was a purple tinted lady, with red hair and white markings. She ran forward and suddenly hugged the closest Blade, which happened to be Cypress.

The Reploid locked up. She immediately looked behind her for guidance on this strange interaction. All Uldren could do was watch her with the same sorrow, not having the heart to tell the poor woman to let his comrade go.

Another Corsair suddenly bowed. She pressed her forehead to the floor before Uldren. He blinked, stepping back in surprise at the gesture.

“I don’t know what god exists anymore,” the lady whimpered. “But I want to thank them so much for this chance to see something different for once!”

Uldren slowly lowered his shoulders. “What? You aren’t...mad at me?”

The woman lifted her head. “You are not Uldren Sov, stranger. You walk and speak differently. And you have this aura of different emotions that he never did. Why should I be mad at one who shouldn’t be blamed?”

Uldren gave a bitter smile. “It’s just Uldren. And I guess I am different, if you say I am. It’s not like I knew him.”

The Blades did not waste any more time than they should. They immediately began moving provisions and better weapons into the Corsairs’ cave. The Corsairs in return tried to give everything they knew of the situation, even if it wasn’t much. Most of them died by the end of the second week, away from anything informative.

But they mostly just...talked. The Blades began reciting stories from since the formation of the Alliance. The Corsairs were so eager to hear, constantly asking questions and getting hooked on every sentence. Kamui was more than happy to chat his mouth off, and Leo was glad that so many people were interested in his knowledge. However, Uldren noticed he dodged questions about if anything happened in the Reef, especially the Tangled Shore. And when Kamui filled them in quietly, the Corsairs gave him sympathy he didn’t want.

Sertia and Cypress sat at the mouth of the cave. Both of them were watching the Keep of Voices from the caverns. Cypress was speaking about her arm, enchanted by Fox’s experimentations before he ascended to being the Shadow King.

Sertia placed her hand on the synthetic skin that pulsed with the ruins. “And you don’t mind it?”

“In fact, I relish it.” Cypress rolled back up her sleeve. “It makes me more powerful in a fight.”

Sertia nodded. “Can you tell me another story?”

Cypress looked surprised. “I’ve been saying nothing but stories, and you still want more?”

“Stories are a change in this three-week schedule. They’ve been the greatest thing to happen to me since this hell started. I want to hear more.”

Cypress frowned. “...You ever heard of the Crow Faro?”

“I believe so.”

“He was one of us. He was my only friend. He was nice, and blended into the background. A lot of people called him plain, and stupid for defending Uldren Sov’s actions as being manipulated and possessed. But he was still a friend.”

“Well, where is he now?” Sertia asked.

“Dead,” Cypress quickly answered. “The end. That was the story.”

Sertia was baffled. “Why would you tell me that? I don’t get it.”

“You wanted change. That was something that changed me. Because my only friend was taken away from me.”

Sertia shook her head. “But I wanted the good kind of change.”

“Good, bad, you didn’t specify,” Cypress suddenly snarled. “You just pressed me on for another glorious tale of knights and dragons and super happy endings.”

Sertia’s face slowly fell, and guilt crossed her face. She stared at her hands resting in her lap, clenching them tightly together.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered.

Cypress’s scowl vanished, then she sighed. “Don’t be. I got angry for a reason you couldn’t control. It’s understandable you got excited and wanted more. But if you want stories, go talk to Kamui. He’ll want to chat your ears off.”

Sertia frowned. “But I wanted to talk to you.” Cypress looked over. “You’ve looked sad ever since we got here, and then you were so nice to me...I want to be nice to you, too.”

“I...I just wanted you to have a taste of better food,” Cypress grumbled.

“But that was still a nice thing!” Sertia argued. “You could have had that candy, but you decided to give it to me, despite being sad yourself!”

“Y-Yea, but...”

“But what?”

“...Nothing.” Cypress smiled for the first time in months, a tiny and shy one. “Thank you for...worrying about me, Sertia Mim.”

“Oh, please! Just Sertia!” She giggled. “You’re a very unique and nice person, Cypress. Whether you are metal or not.”

Cypress gasped a bit at the last statement. She blinked, then slowly flushed red. Her smile grew bigger.

Darkness soon began to descend upon the Dreaming City. Inside of the cavern, the now group of forty or so huddled up with blankets and each other. Kosmo laid across Uldren and Keith curled up together while Leo watched in jealousy before falling asleep himself. Cypress stayed awake, sitting next to Sertia and watching intently for intruders while making sure to conserve as much energy as possible.

During the night, a long distance away, somebody stepped through a line of trees. They shivered before pulling their black jacket around them.

“Geesh,” Kurami remarked. “It gets colder than the Umbra Mondo here.”

Petra watched her from leaning against a tree. Her veins were darker than usual, and her eye has lost some of its Awoken glow. She’s been wearing more covering clothes to hide herself from the neck down.

“Are you going to whine or will you explain why we are here of all places?”

Kurami huffed. “I just wanted to check the place out, Venj. Pari girl saw a shuttle from the Reef come in, after all.”

Petra paused. “You saw a what?”

“A shuttle. From the Blade of Marmora dudes.”

“Those dogs that the prince is with?! Why are they here?!”

Kurami rolled her eyes. “Obviously, to try and help where you didn’t.”

“You do not understand what I went through to help the Awoken people. And I would still be doing it if you did not intervene.”

“Oh, don’t give me that shit!” Kurami snarled. “You just told Guardians what to do while you sat back and played vendor in the RPG game. You didn’t fight yourself. Don’t play yourself up to be the hero.” Petra opened her mouth to speak. “Not only that, you never told the Alliance of the causal loop.”

“The Guardians did not tell them?”

“The Guardians fucking died because of the Umbra Mondo!” Kurami pointed out. “You can’t exactly spread the word if you’re dead, no?”

Petra huffed. “Why are you getting mad at me? This doesn’t involve your race to the throne.”

Kurami paused a bit. “...Family business. Something the kid would want me to do is to watch over his loved ones, no?”

“So you’re concerned out of memory for a kid you abandoned five years ago to go on a wild goose chase for a crown you never got?”

Kurami’s expression darkened. “And you never told anybody what was happening to your own soldiers?”

Petra did not respond. She only looked away.

“I couldn’t do anything to help them,” she defended herself.

“And it never crossed your mind that a chrono angel, a literal manipulator of time, could, and you never told her out of pettiness towards ME, causing your soldiers to die meaningless deaths and lose their sanity over and over?!”

This time, Petra stayed quiet. The gears turned in her head, and her visible eye began to widen. Her mouth moved a bit, but she said nothing.

“Understand, now?”

“...Then why didn’t Mara come forward?”

Kurami paused. “Eh?”

“Unlike me, her Majesty was not caught up in a situation of darkness controlling me like a puppet. She had free time, more than enough to keep up with the events going on in the Alliance. She would have known, right?”

Kurami slowly raised a hand to her chin. “Then why didn’t she ever approach me? Why was it you?”

“And when I failed...why didn’t she do it herself?”

“...You recognize you’re at fault.”

“I do. But she is, too.”

“What if she didn’t know?” Kurami dared to ask.

“Oh, please. She knew who took Uldren Sov when he was revived, where he was taken to, and what government was within that place now. Her Majesty knew damn well about the chrono angels.”

Kurami laughed a bit. “You sound mad. At me, or her?”

“Let’s just finish up our business here, alright?”

“Alright, alright...I just want to check up on Bookworm, Sovvie, and Chat Violet. Then we can head back to base, and talk about this loop with Pari girl. She might know what we’re dealing with, ya know?”

Petra slowly nodded. “...Hey, uh...how’s the husband?”

“Hm? Oh, nannying the baby. Thinking about reconciling with Axl. The usual. Why’d you ask? That was so very not Venjful-like of you.”

“...Are you going to tell the Alliance about what the incident truly was about?”

“...They don’t need that on their conscious. Besides, Yukio’s dead. No need to make them paranoid of an innocent comatose man. I mean, last time that happened, the guy got a lifetime supply of house arrest and crippling depression!”


	2. The Journey Within

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters in chapter:
> 
> -Allura  
> -Variks  
> -Mithrax  
> -Silkris
> 
> Chapter summary:
> 
> A group breaks off from the Alliance to visit the last remnants of the Eliksni House of Dusk on the moon Titan.

Within the small ship, both Allura and Variks stood over a table. On the table was an old map of the Solar System they resided in. The air of the tightly-packed room carried a stale and almost rotten scent, but they had gotten used to it by now. In the cockpit, the third companion Mithrax was flying the vessel forward.

Allura held different-colored pens. Pinching a red one, she pulled it out of her fist and proceeded to uncap it. She placed the cap on the other end and leaned closer to the map.

“Tell me about the Fallen Houses,” she requested of Variks.

“House of Dusk is our target, yes? They are made of older houses. The Houses of Devil, Wolves, and Exiles. Perhaps even more, now. It has been a long time.”

“Where are they?”

“Most concentrated on the moon Titan. It was abandoned after the Red War. It is nothing but ruins of the past. Another testament to how times have changed.”

With the red pen, Allura circled Titan on the map. She began to write the name of the house in near-fluent Eliksni. Variks noticed a small error, but did not want to bother her with such an insignificant correction.

“And that is all.”

Allura paused. She looked back up at Variks. “That’s it?”

“Fallen are splintered, yes? Formed into one broken house to try and survive. Timeline Prime has become more hostile than ever.”

“Why have they never approached the Alliance for help?” Allura questioned.

Variks shook his head. “Foolish. The Alliance was birthed from the Vanguard. The same power that sought to vanquish them. Despite change, the stigma and hostility remains within your Guardian friends.”

Allura paused, nodding a bit. “I see.”

“It is not a problem you should take fault of, Kell of Alteans. It is a problem created long ago, out of our hands to completely rectify.”

Allura looked as if she was about to apologize. Instead, she nodded again. “I understand, Variks.”

Variks placed one of his hands on her shoulder. “It will be fine. Believe me, yes?”

“Yes. I do believe you. But do you believe in Mithrax?”

Variks paused. “Explain.”

“The plan is to get Mithrax in the good graces of the House of Dusk so he may become Kell of Kells,” Allura described. “Do you personally believe he has the capability to do that?”

“...I believe your word that he can, but I do not know Mithrax like you do,” Variks admitted. “I will not be able to answer correctly and accurately, yes?”

Allura sighed. “I was afraid of that, but I understand.”

The ship jostled a bit, and Allura automatically reached out to stabilize herself against the wall. Variks stumbled a bit, but he quickly regained his footing.

Allura put the pens down. “We must be landing now.”

“I suggest we sit down, yes?” Variks plopped himself down on one of the chairs.

Allura did the same and strapped herself in. Then, she placed on her Paladin helmet and made sure it was attached properly once the ship began to rattle more violently.

She had almost forgotten what it was like to enter the atmosphere of a planet. She had been on the Alliance Earth for so long. She was either within the Tower or outside trying to learn how to communicate with the local Eliksni. She actually apologized to the Blue Lion when they took one of the smaller ships to head to Titan.

So much has really changed between the Paladins of Voltron. Keith was off to the Dreaming City with his mother and boyfriend. Hunk commonly cooked for the Alliance members with Eva Levante. Pidge spent her time working with Ikora or sitting next to Cayde-6’s comatose body in the infirmary. Lance visited the Vasiliev family more and more frequently, too.

She’s worried about Shiro the most, however. His breakup with Adam was an extremely messy one. The fact that Adam attempted murder on Andal drove a deep wedge between the two, and eventually became too much for both. Allura could tell Adam did not want this, but Shiro was too angry with him to be reasoned with. She thinks it’s unlikely they’ll reunite for the second time.

And Pidge’s worries were hers, as well. Not even the best of their technicians and doctors just couldn’t find out what happened to Cayde. Not even Sundance, his Ghost, can reach out and wake him up. And even if he does awaken, there’s a chance that he could have undergone an Exo reboot, and that he may not remember who he was.

In the Alliance, there had been such a tense air since the kidnapping of the sixteen people. And even when the deceased had their bodies returned, the tensions grew worse. Everyone seemed ready to begin blaming each other from what happened or just give up entirely. Maybe the Blades left to try and escape that suffocating feeling within the Tower. Maybe it even subconsciously drove her to board this ship and head to Titan to speak to the fractured House of Dusk with her Eliksni allies.

Regardless, here she was, sitting in this small ship. She didn’t even know why she bothered to come along. She did not have a chance to become Kell of Kells and unite the Eliksni people. She wasn’t one of them.

Finally, the shaking stopped, and the ship hummed as it landed on the Titan surface. The hull shook one last tiny time, then ceased in moving. Allura already began to unbuckle herself, making sure her bayard was on her hip.

From the cockpit, Mithrax emerged, looking at his two allies. <”Did we land well?”> he growled in Eliksni.

Allura responded in the same language. <”No injuries. Good enough?”>

<”Yes. Good enough.”> Mithrax nodded in approval at her understanding.

<”We leave, yes?”> Variks stood up as well.

Mithrax silently nodded. The three stepped out of the only ready room in the ship and cracked open the exit door.

Allura looked out at the environment of Titan. As far as she can see, there was a thick haze of a sickly green fog. Ruins from the older times were everywhere, from large boats to collapsed buildings. It really did look like something thriving existed here once, but that was a long time ago. Now all that remained were the ruins of the past.

<”A sad sight, yes?”> Variks remarked.

Allura slowly nodded. <”Very sad.”> She felt awkward for Eliksni speech having to be simplified for her understanding.

All three stepped out of the ship and onto the ground of the moon. Allura checked again if her helmet was filtering properly. The last thing she wanted to do was to find out if the gas around them was toxic or not.

<”The Dusk banner is purple,”> Mithrax proclaimed. <”Look for purple.”>

<”Of course.”> Allura nodded.

The three began to walk forward, pulling out their weapons. Mithrax gripped his shock blades in two of his four hands while Variks clutched his staff as a means of protection. Meanwhile, Allura held her bayard, ready to transform it into either her whip or glaive.

Titan was nothing but a mass grave. A chill went down Allura’s spine at the thought of so many people having died here. A darker thought crossed her mind: what got to the people first all those centuries ago? The Darkness that caused the collapse? Starvation or thirst? Or did they themselves finish the deed?

<”You look stressed,”> Variks growled.

<”People died here,”> Allura remarked simply. <”That scares me.”>

“Unnerved is <unnerved,”> Variks translated. <”You now have learned a new word.”>

<”Thank you. It is a good word to know.”>

<”Silence!”> Mithrax suddenly stopped.

Variks did too. <”Misraaks? What is wrong?”>

<”I heard a noise. A small noise. Something is nearby.”>

Allura fell quiet. She began to sweep the area with her gaze when she heard it. A tiny cracking noise, like an egg would.

“What is the word for egg?” She quickly asked. When she received it, she looked back in the direction she heard it. <”It sounds like egg.”>

<”An Eliksni egg?”> Mithrax suddenly sounded concerned.

Allura did not respond. Instead, she walked over to the right, where there was a pile of rubble haphazardly stacked, as if there was an attempt to hide something. She paused, listening for the cracking noise again. This time, there was a chirping noise with it.

With a grunt, Allura began to pull away the metal scraps. Variks and Mithrax quickly moved to help her with the task. As they shoveled away the last of it, Allura peeked into the alcove they uncovered and gasped.

An egg was partially broken, and cracking fast. There were clicking and chirping noises coming from inside it. Immediately, Allura reached to gently pull the egg out from the tiny crevice, watching whatever was inside wobble from the movement.

Mithrax stared in wonder. <”It is an egg,”> he murmured.

<”Why out here?”> Allura questioned. <”No Eliksni here.”>

To answer her, Variks came up from over a small hill. <”Bodies over here. Attacked by hostile forces. Hid the egg for safety.”>

As Variks spoke, there was a squeal, and the rest of the egg top came off. All three watched as a small Eliksni baby poked their head out, covered in a soft translucent shell and the fluids of the egg interior. They looked around a few times before setting their sights on Allura holding their egg.

Allura looked up to see Mithrax taking off one of the cloth pieces on his armor. She gratefully took it and picked up the baby, wrapping them in the cloth and trying to wipe the fluids off of them.

<”Hello there,”> she said to the small Eliksni staring at her with obvious wonder.

<”We witnessed a beautiful thing, yes?”> Variks remarked. <”Birth.”>

Mithrax only sadly looked over the hill that Variks checked out. <”And death.”>

Allura noted that the Eliksni baby was breathing fine, even clamoring around. She pulled them closer to her chest, watching them curl up to her warmth. She didn’t want to know how cold Titan was to a newborn.

<”Eliksni fleeing home?”> Allura asked. <”They were carrying an egg.”>

<”We must retrace their steps,”> Mithrax noted. <”Then we find House of Dusk.”>

Allura put away her bayard to hold the baby more easily. They began to wake up the hill, and she automatically hid the baby’s line of vision from the corpses. There were only a few, but it looked like they had more eggs. There were either smashed shell pieces or...she didn’t want to look directly at the or.

Before long, they passed the carnage, and their ship was now out of sight. Once they locate the House of Dusk, they’ll have to summon it to a closer position. Allura did not like the idea of walking all the way back. She didn’t want to see those poor Eliksni brutally slaughtered and left to rot alone.

A few minutes of walking later, Allura noticed something purple stirring in the breeze. It was a cloth flag with a white Eliksni symbol placed on it.

<”House of Dusk symbol”,> Variks noted. <”We are close.”>

<”To what exactly?”> Allura remarked in return.

Neither of the Fallen responded. They looked at the Eliksni hatchling chirping in Allura’s arms. Variks reached out a hand to give a light pat on the baby’s head.

<”Eliksni brothers!”> An unknown voice suddenly called, filled with joy. <”Alive Eliksni brothers!”>

All three suddenly looked. A lone Baron was a distance away, surrounded by Dregs. They all wore the same colors of the House of Dusk. All of them stared in amazement at the small group before them.

<”Hello!”> Allura called. <”We come in peace!”>

<”Are you the White Messiah?”>

Allura was certainly familiar with the term. After sparing so many Eliksni during her excursions around the Tower territory, they began to see her as a beacon of hope. Even when she hasn’t interacted with the House of Dusk, and the Eliksni have long left Last City territory, it seems the title of White Messiah was still familiar to the people.

She nodded. <”I am.”>

<”And is the hatchling yours?”> The Baron continued.

<”No,”> she responded. <”Found in wreckage. Mother most likely dead.”>

The Baron closed the distance between them. The Dregs skittered after, seeming to be captivated by the Altean woman. The Eliksni baby chirped a bit, staring at its fellow species members.

Variks stepped forward. <”We wish to speak with the Kell of House of Dusk.”>

<”We have no Kell,”> the Baron responded, then added something too complicated for Allura to understand fully. When they noticed her confused face, they asked, <”Not fluent?”>

<”No,”> she responded. <”Doing my best.”>

<”No Kell?”> Variks repeated to the Baron. <”Too fractured?”>

<”Yes. We cannot agree on many things. House of Dusk faces doom.”>

<”Take us to your house,”> Mithrax asked. <”We wish to help.”>

The Baron nodded as a form of respect. Then, they turned and began to head off in a direction towards the left. The other Eliksni began to follow, Allura tagging along.

The more they interacted, the less useful Allura felt. She barely knew enough Eliksni to understand a decent conversation with variety in it. Why did she even come along? It was Variks and Mithrax chasing after the title of Kell. She was just along for the ride, at this point.

The further they progressed, the more flags Allura saw. Eliksni were coming out of ramshackle hiding places, staring at the newcomers. She could feel most eyes on her in particular.

In her arms, the Eliksni baby made clicking noises and pawed at her helmet. Gently, Allura pried off their hands, trying to keep a firm grip on them at the same time. She noted that the baby seemed hungry, but she didn’t have much to feed them with.

Finally, they left the exposed surface of Titan and entered a well-lit cavern system. Eliksni of varying sizes and kinds were filling the wide space, holed up in crevices and shacks that were most likely their homes. Allura could also see a corner of the cave dedicated entirely to Eliksni eggs. And on one side, there was a large orb pulsating with a soft purple light. However, it was on its side on the ground, seeming to be broken as Eliksni hurried to fix it.

Mithrax staring at it sighed in sympathy. “That is the Prime Servitor of the House of Dusk, it seems,” he said to Allura. “The only one, too.”

“The Prime Servitors produce Ether, right?” Allura questioned. “What happens if they’re broken?”

“Simple: no Ether,” Variks remarked. “I pity these people. So many mouths to feed, and only one malfunctioning mechanism to deliver the food.”

Allura glanced back at the corner of eggs again. A few Eliksni were guarding the eggs, seeming to be either guards or the mothers of the eggs. She glanced down at the Eliksni baby in her arms, who looked back up at her in return.

“Do you mind if I bring this baby to the nursery area over there?” Allura asked Mithrax by her. “You and Variks can talk to whoever leads here.”

Mithrax nodded. “Of course. Remain here while we progress, then.”

Allura turned off the route they were taking. She stood for a moment, watching Variks and Mithrax continue to follow the Baron. When they looked back in a confused manner, Mithrax seemed to explain what Allura was doing. Then she proceeded to walk closer to the nursery.

The guards seemed rather conflicted. On one hand, a non-Eliksni was walking up to them. On the other, they were carrying a recently hatched Eliksni baby wrapped in a cloth of their colors. They lowered their weapons and leaned forward, intrigued as Allura approached.

<”Hello,”> she said, and they looked surprised. <”I do not speak advanced Eliksni. I found Eliksni egg in wreckage. Hidden by mother. Eliksni were dead nearby. The egg hatched.”> She held out the baby. <”They belong here.”>

The Eliksni seemed impressed at her. Once came forward, putting aside their weapons. Then, they gently took the baby from Allura’s hands.

At once, they threw a nasty fit. They began to wail and flail their four arms. And the strangest thing was, the Eliksni who took the baby nodded, as if expecting this, and actually handed the child back to her.

<”The hatchling imprinted upon you, White Messiah. You are now its mother to them.”>

Confused, Allura looked at the hatchling she now held. They had stopped crying the moment she was holding them again. They looked up at her face and clicked their tiny mandibles.

<”I see,”> she said slowly, still watching the baby curl up in her arms.

<”It is not a bad thing,”> one of the guards remarked. <”Is it bad to you?”>

<”N-No! I do not think it is bad. I am just...”>

The guard asked something. When Allura did not respond, they nodded to themselves and tried to simplify it. <”Sad?”>

<”Perhaps,”> Allura admitted, but still smiled a bit when the hatchling clutched onto her shoulder and tried to pull themselves up her body.

The guard watched the hatchling squirm. <”Name?”>

<”Me? Allura.”>

<”No. Name of hatchling.”>

Allura looked over at the small baby. They were perching on her shoulder now, face right next to hers. When she stared at them, they gave a happy chirp and bonked their forehead with hers. She flinched, but didn’t cry out in alarm in fear of scaring them.

<”They have no name.”>

<”Do you want to name them?”>

Allura nodded, reaching out a hand to pet the hatchling. <”Yes.”>

<”Silkris. Is it a good name?”>

Allura took a moment to consider this. The baby on her shoulder made another clicking sound and stabilized themselves on her helmet when they almost teetered off.

<”I like it,”> Allura noted while having a smile.

There was a fizzle, then a small explosion. Allura looked to see Eliksni reeling back from their partially destroyed Prime Servitor. It was whirring and sparking, on the verge of destruction. It seems whatever they tried to do only made it worse.

Silkris gave a whine of concern as Allura walked closer. More Eliksni were arriving, driven by cries of worry for their only source of Ether. However, her approach grabbed some of their attention.

She stepped up closer to the Prime Servitor. Slowly, she knelt down beside it. The light both within it and what it emanated were dim, and she listened to the sputtering noises it emanated.

Behind her, she could hear the Fallen speaking hurriedly. It was hard for her to understand a single sentence, but she did head a title being repeated. Zuriks Prime. That must be the name of this Prime Servitor.

She placed a hand on the shell of Zuriks Prime. She reached out with the power of Altean magic. Her soul stirred and could feel the pain and suffering from the broken ‘machine’ before her. Its life was waning, so once she began to glow, she could feel the mechanic lifeforce reach out, wanting to devour the light she offered.

So she gave it. Gripping the metallic chassis, she willed her body to let quintessence flow from her into the soul of Zuriks Prime. The Prime Servitor pulsed with the power, and the sputtering began to cease, replaced with a softer motor noise. The purple glow from it changed to one as white as quintessance.

When Allura’s arms began to shake, Zuriks’s conscience gently pressed her away. It knew she had reached her limit of what she could give. With barely a wobble, it floated up from the ground. Allura watched from on her knees as it hovered without any trouble.

At once, a great cheer spread out. The Eliksni were visibly ecstatic. She could hear either her name or the title of White Messiah be chanted in repeated cries. She stood up and looked at the gathered Eliksni, Silkris still perched on her shoulder and cooing a bit.

The Prime Servitor returned to creating what had to be ether. A thick gas begin to be sprayed out from its chassis. It was as white as the light from its ‘eye’. She could also feel the faint presence of quintessence behind the veil of it. With a flash of worry, she hoped that the quintessence would either disappear from the ether quickly or the Eliksni would not fall prey to the way it corrupts a personality.

“Allura!” She looked to see Mithrax scurry up, followed by Variks and a larger Eliksni who looked to be of higher ranking than a Baron. It could be an Archon, or even a sort of Kell for the fractured House.

The large Eliksni suddenly stopped and stared. <”Zuriks Prime is...repaired.”>

<”I healed it,”> Allura said. She didn’t exactly know how to not sound prideful when speaking in such a way.

“Amazing!” Variks cried in English. “You truly are the White Messiah they speak of, yes? Your name is a legend amongst the Eliksni here.”

Allura quickly cleared her throat, happy to speak a language she was fluent in. “How did the meeting with the leader go?”

Variks gave a chuckle. “Horrible. Leader outright refused to hear us once the topic of becoming Kell of Kells appeared. Shrugged us off so fast, I think they might have another candidate in mind.”

Allura frowned. “Well, that certainly puts a wrench in our plans. If Mithrax cannot be the Kell of Kells-”

“I must interrupt. They wished to see you personally.”

She stopped, looking up at Variks. “See me?” She repeated.

“Yes. Surprised me, too! They ask you to be quick.”

“Oh, of course. Watch Silkris for me, will you?”

Mithrax looked as Allura plucked Silkris off of her. “You named it, Allura? If you name something, you will grow attached to it.”

“Oh, I know. Silkris already imprinted on me, so I can’t really do anything other than accept it!” Allura quickly ran off the way they came once Variks took the hatchling.

As Silkris immediately began to cry, Variks looked shocked. “Hatchling imprinted upon Allura?!” He screeched, leaving the Archon to inspect the repaired Zuriks Prime.

Further in the cave, not much Eliksni were present. This was probably not a residential area, or they were all attracted to Zuriks Prime at the moment. Banners of the House of Dusk hung on the cavern walls as she pressed on, guided by the flames from torches and stands.

At the end was a large arch made from scrap, probably to denote some sort of importance. In front of this arch was a chair, but nobody sat in it. Instead, an Eliksni stood by it, staring at it with a strange look. It was one of longing, but not for themselves to have the chair.

They turned when Allura stepped forward. “Ah, White Messiah.”

She paused, surprised. “You speak English?”

“I’ve learned it as a second language. I believe I speak it quite well. And I know it is easier for you to understand.”

Allura flushed out of embarrassment. “Yes, it is. Thank you for your consideration.”

“Now, I know why you and your allies came. To speak of the title of Kell of Kells.”

She nodded. “Right. But I believe that discussion is out of the question?”

“Now what makes you say that, White Messiah?”

“Well, you refused both of my Eliksni friends the ability to become the Kell of Kells. And only an Eliksni can claim that title.”

The Eliksni gave a soft chuckle. “Oh, I believe you’re mistaken on that.”

“Huh?”

“The prophecy of the Kell of Kells states that a mighty WARRIOR will rise and unite the Eliksni. They never defined that this warrior had to be one of our own species.”

Allura blinked, then gasped. “You're not saying that...”

“White Messiah, the Eliksni will be honored if you will rise to the title of Kell of Kells.”

“I...I don’t know. No, I don’t really think so. I’m barely even educated properly in the language and culture of the Eliksni! I would at least need to be fluent in the language I communicate to my subjects in!”

“And yet only you can truly rise to the title,” the Eliksni pointed out. “You’ve shown mercy upon us and given many a second chance when they thought all was lost. The White Messiah is heralded as a hero. The Eliksni would accept nobody else as their savior.”

“But I’m not what you believe I can be,” Allura said sadly. “I don’t think I’ll be able to connect with the Eliksni people in the way you think I can.”

The Eliksni laughed again. “White Messiah, you already have connected with them. They would not accept anybody less for the title.”

Allura still seemed unsure of herself. “You are definite of this?”

“I wouldn’t be saying this is if I was not, White Messiah.”

She remained quiet for a few more seconds. She was debating on what to do in her head. The Eliksni was obviously giving her the chance to turn it down. But she didn’t want to abandon the Eliksni people.

That was probably it. Her desire for the species to thrive again, and her actions that drove to that future. That’s what made her a serious consideration for being the Kell of Kells.

“I’ll do it,” she declared with determination. “I’ll become the Kell of Kells.”

The Eliksni seemed surprised. They must have thought that Allura would truly turn down the honor. However, their emotions were quickly replaced by happiness.

They immediately got into a kneeling position before her. “Then the throne is yours, my Kell.”

Allura nodded as a form of respect, and walked over to the empty chair. She slowly sat down in it, placing her hands on the armrests. It did feel like she was sitting on a throne overlooking a kingdom.

A strange feeling of pride warmed up in her chest. She didn’t seek this title, but it came to her anyways. And she was proud of herself for being able to help the Eliksni in the best way possible: by leading them into a better future.

Her father would love to see this. He would be so proud of her.


	3. The Oracle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters in chapter:  
> -Krolia  
> -Keith  
> -Uldren  
> -Cypress  
> -Sertia Mim  
> -Kamui  
> -Nythera  
> -Jolyon Till  
> -Mara Sov  
> -Takumi (mentioned)
> 
> Chapter summary:  
> To contact Mara and learn more about the curse having befallen the Dreaming City, the group must find an amethyst shard to activate the Oracle Engine.

It has now been almost three weeks since the Blade of Marmora entered the Dreaming City. And Uldren could only watch as the city changed with the curse that plagued the lands.

The first week was the most peaceful. The scenery was beautiful, and sometimes quiet. Those times, Uldren liked the most. They allowed both the Corsairs and the Blades to sit down and talk around manmade campfires every night. They could visibly see the color return to the tired faces of the women left behind in a broken world. Hope was beginning to come back to them.

Then the second week began. The area began to turn black and warped. A thick, green-tinted fog replaced the gentle blue of the sky. Even the portal to the Tangled Shore began to get shrouded from view. It was like a thick poison had injected itself into the veins of the city, and the symptoms were only showing now.

The Taken grew in numbers. The numbers of the Corsairs dwindled. And the hope the Blades instilled left their faces again. They didn’t even want to talk by the campfire anymore. Only Sertia still continued to interact with them, but only with Cypress, Jolyon, or Uldren. She went quiet with the others.

It was the end of the third week now. There was only one Corsair and fifteen Blades left. The Taken had stolen some of their own, adding their deaths to this neverending nightmare. And by the end of this week, it would repeat again, taking them down with it.

It was morning as Uldren stood at the cave entrance. He stared at the Keep of Voices, hands on his hips. Keith stood beside him. Both of them had their hoods and masks off, and they were still blinking off the morning blues.

“The third week,” Keith commented.

Uldren nodded. “Yea.”

“...We’ve lost five of our own now.”

Still distracted by his thoughts, Uldren pet Kosmo sitting dutifully by them both. “Yea.”

Keith scowled. “You even listening?”

“Not really,” Uldren admitted. “I’m thinking about the amount of shit we got ourselves into.”

Keith crossed his arms. “We knew we were signing up for something bad when we agreed to head into the Dreaming City.”

“Yea, but we didn’t know what we were getting into,” Uldren pointed out. “Would we have agreed to come here if we knew we would be trapped in a time loop going on for more than a year now until we knew how to fix it?”

“Good point,” Keith admitted. “I don’t know.”

“...I wonder what Takumi would say.”

Keith blinked. “Huh?”

“I wonder what he would say if he was here, stuck in this place with us. Would he make some dark joke? Get along well with the Corsairs?”

“Uldren, I don’t like the way you keep bringing him up. It’s as if you don’t want to let go of him and accept that he’s gone.”

“It’s really hard to,” Uldren admitted. “I still can’t believe he’s not with us anymore. Doesn’t it feel like that he could just walk out of those bushes and laugh at how we fell for such a meticulously-planned joke?”

“Uldren, I...I want to know why you’re so attached to Takumi the way you are. You barely knew him. You knew him...for two months at best.”

“The first two months as my life as a kinderguardian!” Uldren proclaimed. “The first memories of the life I know! Takumi was a part of those. He wasn’t in your beginning, but he was in mine. That’s why he’s so precious to me, and why it hurts me more than it hurts you.”

“Are you saying I didn’t care Takumi died?” Keith questioned. “He was my friend, too!”

“N-No, I didn’t mean that!” Uldren responded. “I’m saying that it wounded me in a way that it would never hurt you. It’s...It’s as if your parent died. They were there at the start! You would want them to be there for the end, but-!”

Keith had suddenly froze. Galra fur was appearing on his skin as his hands clenched. Uldren immediately shut up, realizing he went too far somehow.

When Keith’s eyes were fully yellow, Uldren spoke quietly. “I-I’m-"

“No. I get what you mean. I get what you were going at. Because that’s what happened to my dad.”

Uldren immediately winced. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I just got...hit with a huge burst of emotion.” Keith rubbed at his eyes. “I-I’ll be fine. But I understand what you mean. I can understand how you were affected deeper about Takumi’s death than I was.”

Uldren reached to scratch behind Keith’s ears. He smiled in return and leaned against Uldren. Both of them stood there, taking in each other’s warmth in the cool air around them.

It really did feel like Takumi could be back any day now. Or rather, he would be back. It was a matter of time. That was a better mindset: when, not if. It made it feel like less of a separation or more of a very long wait.

He didn’t deserve to die the way he did. Especially before he could ever find his sister Sakura. That was the reason he became a mercenary in the first place. And by extent, why he joined the Blade of Marmora. His family was always the driving force.

At least there’s been some level of justice. That creature named Iaoel and the rest of the Aerioi fireteam were killed, and Andal was found guilty of the murders. That was enough justice, right?

No...that’s wrong? Was it wrong? A sudden twisted feeling entered his gut, and he clutched at his head. It felt like both his body and mind disagreed with what he just thought.

When he grunted, Keith glanced up. “Uldren?” He asked in concern.

“I...I’m fine. I was just wondering if...if we really know the full extent of what happened.”

“What do you mean?” Keith tilted his head.

“I-I mean...I mean I’m wondering if our intuition is somehow...wrong.” Uldren stammered a bit as he said this.

“Uldren, what’s wrong? You’ve never really stammered before.”

Before he could respond, someone walked up from inside the cave. Both turned to see Cypress walking up. Her hair was in a ponytail as her retinas spun a bit in her sockets.

“Am I interrupting?” She asked.

Uldren looked at Keith before answering. “N-No, we were really just wrapping it up.”

“Good. We need to talk. I learned something very interesting from Sertia, and I wanted to gather all of the Blades before I shared it.”

Both Keith and Uldren looked at each other in concern before nodding silently at Cypress. Their conversation can wait. They followed her back into the cave, Kosmo and Pulled Pork trailing behind.

The Blades, including Jolyon, were gathered a few feet in around a smouldering campfire. Sertia had huddled to herself next to Jolyon.

Cypress was the only one standing as Uldren and Keith sat themselves down. “First, I’ll like to thank Sertia for telling me this. It is vital to gaining better ground within the Dreaming City.”

Sertia blushed a bit. “Thank you, Cypress.”

The Reploid grew a bit pink in the face too before continuing. “There is a place called the Observatory within this Dreaming City area. Beneath it is a device called the Oracle Engine. This device was used as a way to access the throne world of none other than Mara Sov.”

Leo seemed intrigued. “Mara Sov has her own throne world?”

“That’s right. The Oracle Engine is the only way we can access it. Not only that, this third week is the only time that it can be activated.”

“So we can go talk to her now!” Jolyon began to get up.

Cypress raised a hand. “Slow down. I’m not finished.” Confused, Jolyon plopped back down. “We can’t actually activate the Oracle Engine to get to the throne world. There’s a problem.”

“Which is?” Krolia gestured for her to continue.

“It requires an offering. More exactly, a large fragment of amethyst local to the Dreaming City. The situation arises in that only Petra Venj knew where to get these fragments for the Oracle Engine.”

Uldren sighed. “And she’s missing.”

“Well, fuck,” Nythera coolly remarked. “What do we do now?”

“Obviously, find the source of the amethyst fragments or any sort of the gem before the third week is over,” Kamui answered.

“Which should be easy,” Sertia spoke up. Some of the Blades looked surprised at her speaking up. “I mean, the Dreaming City’s full of amethyst. We won’t need to look hard for a powerful piece of one. We probably need to look somewhere within the civilian district for some, however.”

“Full of Taken?” Keith guessed.

“Ding ding ding,” Sertia snarked. “It’s one of their favorite gathering places.”

“It would have been nice if you told us during the first or second week, so we could have gotten the amethyst when there wasn’t as much Taken!” Nythera suddenly remarked.

“Lay off of her,” Krolia ordered. “It’s obvious she isn’t in her best state of mind. Besides, the more time we spend arguing, the less time we can get the amethyst and speak to that queenly ‘friend’ of ours.”

“How big should the shard be?” Kamui questioned.

Sertia held her hands out in front of her. “I never saw it physically, but I would want to say...most likely the size of your hand, fingers and all.”

“Are sizes like that common within the populace?” Leo questioned.

“I...don’t believe so,” Sertia admitted. “We’ll need to look in the house belonging to officials, like Paladins and Corsairs, to find a shard that big.” She noticed the Blades staring at her with confused faces. “Basically, just look for the larger white houses with the purple banners. They’ll have the larger fragment pieces.”

After a few more minutes of discussion, the team to head out to find the fragment was decided on. Consisting of Keith, Krolia, Cypress, Kamui, and Nythera, the five Blades would set out to scour the houses for a sufficient amethyst offering. The rest would stay at the cavernous campsite and hopefully make sure that no other Blades would meet any undesirable fates.

The civilian district of the Dreaming City was a long walk away from their location. It was well-hidden, stuffed away from sight. That didn’t change that it was crawling to the brim with the same poisonous look that the rest of the Dreaming City had, or that its streets were claimed by the malevolent Taken.

However, it seems it used to be a rather beautiful area. The houses were colored white, with three floors maximum and lavish balconies. The houses also had front yards flourishing with now overgrown purple and blue flowers. It seems that whoever once lived in these houses lived a very luxurious, but simplistic life.

Krolia took point, leading on her soldiers. Nythera and Cypress were in the back, watching for any ambushes. And Kamui and Keith walked in the middle, observing the street they were walking down. All of them had their masks and hoods on. It was only able to differentiate them by noticing the bulge in Keith’s hood from his large ears, Cypress being the shortest, and other unique characteristics about them.

“Do you think they had cars?” Kamui questioned.

Keith paused. “What? Why would the Dreaming City citizens have cars?”

“Yea, you’re right. Maybe carriages or carts?”

“I don’t think they even have horses, Kamui. Look, the street isn’t really big enough for cars. Just big enough for crowds.”

“We don’t have a frame of reference for the big streets, though!” Kamui pointed out. “We’re taking the back alleys to avoid them!”

Krolia stopped and turned to the Vallian. “Yes, and the point of taking the back alleys is to be stealthy and undetected. Your shouting is not helping matters.”

Kamui gulped. “Right, ma’am! Sorry, ma’am!”

She sighed. “Didn’t they teach you anything in that academy you brag about?”

Kamui suddenly looked nervous underneath his mask. “Th-That’s...”

“Enough. Kamui, you and Cypress take the house on the left. The rest of us will investigate this one.” Krolia stepped up towards a wooden door with a broken handle.

Kamui immediately saluted, happy for the subject to change. “Yes, ma’am!”

From there, the group diverged. Krolia, Keith, and Nythera forced open the side door of the house to the right. Meanwhile, Kamui got to work climbing up to an open second floor window of the house on the left with Cypress right behind him.

Kamui got one foot in, then stumbled with pulling in the rest of his body. He almost tripped and faceplanted straight into a table right in front of the window, but managed to catch himself. Cypress slid in much easier, throwing both of her legs in, then hopping off of the windowsill.

Kamui quickly dusted himself off. “Right! A white house with purple banners, huh? Seems to fit the bill.”

Cypress looked around and cringed. All of the furniture were either black, white, or somewhere on that spectrum. The interior walls were painted an extremely light blue, and all of the decorations seemed multicolored and abstract.

“Well, whoever owned this house, they sucked at interior decorating,” Cypress snarked.

To her surprise, Kamui nodded. “Yea. That splatter painting does not go well with that couch, let me tell you.” He rubbed his hands. “Now, if I had a large fragment of amethyst, where would I put it? Master bedroom, the study, or the living room?”

“...Kamui, can we talk?” Cypress asked.

Kamui smiled. “Aw, is it about that crush you got?”

“What? What crush? I do not even view anybody within the Blade of Marmora as friends.”

“Hey, who said that the lucky lady was in the Blades?”

At that, Cypress’s internal fans kicked on. “Wh-What?!”

Kamui, with his hands on his hips, began skipping across the room while singing. “Sertia and Cypress, sitting in the city, K-I-S-S-I-N...Huh?” He then proceeded to notice how far apart they were, and proceeded to make a shuffling run back to Cypress.

As he came back, Cypress scowled. “There is nothing special between me and Sertia Mim.”

“Cypress, you’ve done more talking to her than I’ve ever heard you speak in casual conversation! You’re always so moody and quiet, like Nythera but sadder!”

“Sadder?”

“Yea! Nythera just hates people. You seem to just be...scared, y’know? As if you don’t want to make relationships, whether romantic or platonic...”

“Out of fear of being hurt if something ever happened to them,” Cypress finished quietly. “It’s nice that you worry about me, but this is not what I want to talk about.”

Kamui frowned. “Um, alright. What is it, then?”

“Why do you say you’re from Acrine Academy when you’re clearly not?”

After a moment of hesitation, Kamui smiled. “Heh...Whaddaya mean?”

“What’s the major you studied?”

“Human psychology,” he answered.

“Academies don’t offer majors. Colleges do.” Kamui paused, realizing his flub. “Nice try, but I do my research, unlike most of the idiots we work with.”

“So what if I exaggerated my current academic capabilities?” Kamui questioned. “I put a little glamour on my transcript, what does that have to do with you?”

“Alright, then. Tell me what classes you took in your most recent academic year.” Kamui paused again, and Cypress scoffed. “You never went to an academy at all.”

“I...fail to see why this matters to you!”

“What’s your last name?”

“You want my...what?”

“Do you even have a last name, Kamui? Should I even call you that?” Cypress looked Kamui up and down. “What are you? You’re not Vallian. I know that for sure. But you look damn similar to its queen, and I want to know why.”

“If I told you, you would hate me.” Kamui looked suddenly sad.

Cypress paused. “What?”

“If I told you the truth, you would gun me down right where I stand. I would be another casualty of this causal loop. Give me a reason why I should tell you.”

“I’ll tell Krolia you’ve lied to us!”

Kamui gave a laugh. His humor was gone, and he did not smile anymore. “Krolia knows. She saw my test. She swore to secrecy, she understands why I’ve lied. You all would tear my throat out.”

Cypress groaned. “Again with her bullshit of getting to know a person before discovering their true self...”

“Are we done?” Kamui simply asked.

“No. Not yet. One more question...why did you join the Blade of Marmora? Are you escaping something?”

“No. Rather, I’m protecting someone. Uldren Sov.”

Cypress gave a confused look. “Uldren Sov doesn’t need protection.”

Kamui gave an eerie smile. “I know. It’s just an instinct.”

Cypress grabbed Kamui by the neck. She slammed him into the wall next to them, and the plaster cracked. Underneath the fabric on her arm, the Umbrin ruins pulsed with unbridled power.

“What the fuck happened?” She seethed. “You know what happened with the incident that killed nine of our own, don’t you?!”

“Nope. I just came out of it with two things. The need to protect Uldren Sov, and the feeling that the Tangled Shore Murders ended incorrectly.”

“Quit speaking bullshit and tell it to me flatly! The incident is connected to the Tangled Shore Murders, right? How is it? Tell me!”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember. And neither does Uldren. Or Nythera. Or anybody else.”

“I really should fucking kill you,” Cypress hissed. “Nobody would miss you. Nobody would even search for your corpse!”

Kamui went quiet. His smug exterior vanished. What Cypress just said made him dissociate entirely. He blinked a few times, eyes staring through her and a thousand yards beyond.

Slowly, Cypress let him go, and he fell to the floor. He held his throat, sucking in a deep breath.

“Find that crystal,” she ordered him.

“Yes, ma’am.” Kamui got up on shaky feet and pressed on into the master bedroom.

For the next few minutes, Cypress stood there, watching the door. She didn’t want to move away and give him a chance to run away. She still wanted answers. However, she knew she wouldn’t get them now, and eventually, she began to walk down to the first floor.

A Taken was slipping in through the open front door. It had probably been attracted by their yelling. She didn’t give it a chance to run back to its friends. Instead, she sunk her fist straight through its head and watched the body dissolve away before calmly closing and locking the front door.

The first floor seemed frozen in time. The kitchen was set up as if dinner was to be served, but none of the food had been prepared yet. She stepped into the small area, looking at the appliances with a small amount of pity. Horrible decorating skills or not, a person still lived here. There was an untold story within these walls.

Then she saw it. Lying in a holder as if it were a decoration, a slab of a purple gem the size of her hand, fingers and all. It was amethyst. She reached out and immediately yanked it out of the holder, gripping it tightly in her palm.

“Kamui!” She yelled up. “I got a fragment! Let’s rendezvous with the others, now!”

As she ran back up to the second floor, Kamui was already out of the master bedroom. He was at the window they entered through, his entire body tense. And when she was about to ask him what he was on edge about, she heard the gunfire and yelling, too.

“Fuck,” she hissed.

“They’re in deep shit,” Kamui remarked plainly before throwing himself out of the window and slamming into the alleyway feet first.

He didn’t wait for Cypress to catch up. He bolted down the alleyway until he reached the main street of the civilian district. When a Taken Vex launched at him, his right arm formed a drill of dragon scales that pierced its whole body like a kabob.

Keith and Krolia were slashing through multiple Taken while the former was full Galra, his mask broken and lying on the ground a distance away. Keith was dual wielding with both his Marmora sword and his bayard sword. Meanwhile, Nythera was laying covering fire with her magic.

Kamui drew his own blade and slashed upwards, cleaving another Taken in half vertically. “What did you guys do?!” He yelled.

“One of the Taken called forward others, and it just escalated from there!” Keith responded. “What about you guys?”

Cypress emerged from the alleyway, clutching the amethyst fragment. “We got some amethyst!” She waved it in the air to prove it.

“That’s our cue to get the hell out!” Nythera yelled, using a fire spell to incinerate a Taken opening fire.

Krolia gestured them forward. “Back the way we came! Let’s go!”

Then the shot rang out. A single shot that echoed throughout the entire civilian district. The back of Krolia’s head exploded in a geyser of gore and shards of her skull. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her sockets as her body rocketed forward from the force of the shot. She landed facefirst on the ground, and didn’t move.

Some of the blood splattered on Keith’s face. He stared without blinking at his own mother, dead at his heels. Then, he screamed with grief lingering on fury. But he didn’t attack the Taken around him, while he still clutched his swords.

Cypress didn’t move either. All she could do was watch. She just watched as Nythera grabbed Keith and physically dragged him away, both leaving Krolia’s corpse on the street. She didn’t resist when Kamui grabbed her wrist and began to pull her away as well.

She couldn’t remember anything else. Her mind had completely shut down. It refused to take in any more information other than the look on Krolia’s face. The bullet completely shattered her blade mask and revealed her expression. That look of frozen fear her corpse would wear for the rest of its goddamn existence in this goddamn city would haunt Cypress forever.

She didn’t have time to react. Nobody had time to warn her. Cypress didn’t even see where it came from. All she could do was just think about how Krolia’s head burst like a ripe melon while her own legs pushed her forward and a hand gripped her arm.

Her arm whispered to her. It hasn’t done that since Faro died. It asked for her to allow it to claim vengeance. The power she could rightfully claim was right here for her. She always refused the power. And it was easy to ignore the whispers. She just had to not get attached to anyone who was to die. The runes only murmured in her head when someone dear to her died.

Why was her mind focused on that expression? Why could she not stop thinking about the way Krolia’s blood splattered against her son’s face, rendering him immobile? Why did it just stick with her?

She blinked when she felt something warm around her body. It was like a hug, comforting and soft. She managed to shove down the image and glanced up to see that her head was against Sertia’s chest while the Corsair held her gently.

They were back in the cave, Cypress held in Sertia’s lap. Keith was being cradled by Uldren in the same way, except he was visibly crying and shaking. Uldren continued to stroke his hair and cradle his head, but looked disturbed himself. The rest of the Blades had backed off, talking in murmurs to themselves.

“You’re moving,” Sertia remarked. “That’s good. When you guys arrived, you were unresponsive.”

“Please tell me that did not happen,” Cypress begged. “Please tell me she’s okay.”

“I’m sorry,” Sertia responded. “Krolia is now caught in the causal loop like the rest of us. Once the loop resets, she should be okay, but her fate within the city is now sealed.”

Keith made a loud sob like that, and Uldren clutched him closer. “Please don’t speak like that,” he asked quietly. “We won’t let that happen to Krolia ever again.”

Sertia only gave him a tired look in return. “That’s what we Corsairs said when these three weeks looped the first time. Then the next. Then the next, and many more after that.”

Jolyon suddenly walked up. “Hey. Uldren. We’re heading out to the Observatory to try and activate the Oracle Engine.”

“I’ll pass,” he replied with no hesitation.

“What? Uldren, Mara is waiting for you.”

Uldren waved a hand, still not talking his eyes off of Keith. “She can wait a little longer, then. Keith just saw his mom die in front of him. He needs me right now. I’ll go next time, when Krolia is actually brought back from the civilian district.”

Jolyon seemed to want to argue against him, but he sighed a bit, shoulders slumping in surrender. “Alright. I get your point. Does anyone else wish to come?”

Sertia looked sad. “I would want to go, but I want to make sure Cypress is okay.”

“No.” Cypress sat up, rubbing her eyes. “I am fine. I can deactivate my emotional output if it gets too tedious to manage. I shall accompany you two.”

Jolyon paused. “Why does it sound like all of the emotion has been drained from you, Cypress?”

“It...happens,” Uldren remarked. “She’ll get better in a few days. She’s just...disturbed by what happened, that’s all.”

“Whatever you say, I guess. You know her more than me.” Jolyon turned and made the signal forward. “Come on, ladies. We got a queen to talk to.”

The Oracle Engine wasn’t the most glamorous machine in the world. Sure, Cypress wondered how the rings about it stood up. But she was sure that it had to do with wibbly-wobbly magic-tragic shit. Besides, now was not the time to question it. She already had a few choice words for their queenly ‘ally’.

Cypress watched Jolyon carry the amethyst fragment to the machine. It seemed to pulse in rhythm with the Oracle Engine, as if it were its beating heart. With humility in mind, he reached out the offering and gave a silent prayer, hoping it would be enough.

Cypress watched as there was a noise, and an opening was revealed within the Oracle Engine. White light spewed out, but it was hard to see what laid beyond it. To the three gathered there, they didn’t even know for sure if the machine would lead them to wherever Mara Sov was. And that was even if she was here.

Surprisingly, Sertia went first. She stepped forward to the Oracle Engine, her body becoming a silhouette blotting out the white light. She looked back to confirm that the other two were right behind her. As they began to walk after her, she took the last strides and vanished into the light, entering the Oracle Engine.

It felt cold, but warm at the same time. A tingling feeling throughout Cypress’s body made her involuntarily shiver. She felt numb for a split second, then she could feel her body appear into existence again. Her feet hit a hard surface, and she opened her eyes.

The area was small. Only a large balcony made of blue metal. On either side were what looked like pools with shifting mirages hovering over them. The left one displayed the symbol of the Blade of Marmora. The right had a crest unfamiliar to Cypress. It depicted a rose against a shield. The mirage did not allow for colors, only shapes.

Before them was a large throne, with a carpet leading up to the base of it. It was currently empty. The astral sky lingered above them, and nothing hung below the balcony.

“This is Mara’s throne world?” Jolyon stepped forward.

Cypress frowned. “Very lacking in terms of furniture and architecture.”

Sertia wandered over to the right mirage. “What is this symbol?” She questioned her Blade companion. “I recognize that the other one is the emblem of your organization. But what’s this?”

Cypress stared at it. The Umbrin in her arm whispered again. This time, it was unrelated to death. That actually surprised her. It always talked about death, power, and yearning for more.

“I believe it is Insurrection’s Abyss’s symbol.” Cypress banked on what the whispers told her. “It is a resistance within the Umbra Mondo rebelling against the Shadow Incarnate monarchy.”

“Oh, yes.” Sertia smiled a bit. “I remember that story.” However, it vanished. “But then I can’t understand why Mara Sov knows this symbol.”

A sudden cold feeling went through what air existed within the throne world. On instinct, Cypress turned around abruptly with a hand on the curved grip of her blade. She noticed the sudden fourth addition to the small party by a part of the balcony, staring out at the sky.

Jolyon, who was halfway into pulling out his sniper rifle for protection, stopped immediately. “It can’t be.”

“For once, I would have been happy for that Guardian who goes by my brother’s name to have walked through the Oracle Engine to come here.” The woman turned to face the three. “Hello, Blade. I am Mara Sov, queen of the Awoken.”

She was a queen. Yet, Cypress did not want to give her the dignity to kneel. Jolyon and Sertia did not move either. Cypress noticed Sertia seemed ready to lunge at Mara in a fit of anger.

“Well?” Mara asked calmly. “Where is he?”

“Back with the others.” Cypress spoke up so Sertia couldn’t say something she could regret later.

“Why is that? I thought he would be rushing to see me.”

Jolyon suddenly laughed. “If anything, he’s deliberately avoiding you.” When Cypress shot a glare at him, he cleared his throat. “His lover’s mom got shot and killed, so he stayed behind to comfort him.”

Mara seemed confused for a second. “Lover...Oh. That halfbreed. Yes, I do know of it.”

“It?” Cypress felt her hand clenching into a fist. “You shall not refer to my superior as an ‘it’, Sov.”

“You would do well to respect me,” Mara warned. “You are in my lands, after all.”

Cypress gave a condescending scoff. “Your lands? What, this tiny balcony that you stand alone in? And you cannot say that you rule the Dreaming City. You abandoned it and let the people within it rot and die! I owe you no respect.”

Mara pushed off the balcony. “You do not understand what my plans are.” She paused. “Or more exactly, were. Many things happened that I did not prepare for.”

“The Alliance formation and subsequent events, correct?” Cypress guessed.

Mara gave a smile that had malice behind it. “Correct indeed. The future itself altered in ways that even the best seers could not predict. Even my own brother’s fate was permanently changed. He was supposed to end up in a shipping container as a Guardian. Instead, he leads a circus of monkeys with people he does not belong with.”

Jolyon stepped forward, as if to brace himself, while glaring at Mara. “What’s that supposed to mean?!” He questioned.

“You all know that my brother does not belong with this...Alliance. He is to stand with the Awoken people. That is where he belongs. Not where he is at the moment.”

Cypress sighed. “Oh, we’re done here, then.” She abruptly turned.

Mara frowned. “I thought you were the one who liked him the least.”

Cypress froze mid-step. She didn’t turn back. Her mind blanked, going back to when she argued against Uldren becoming a member of the Blades. How she was the only Blade truly against his enrollment, only convinced to not be openly hostile by Faro.

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to get rid of him?” Mara continued.

“Don’t make me punch you,” Cypress hissed. “Times are different now. And Uldren is not some little puppet for you.”

Mara frowned. “I merely want my Master of Crows to return to me.”

“That is NOT who he is!” Cypress suddenly snapped.

“And who are you to say?!” Mara suddenly yelled back, a small tremor echoing throughout the throne world. “Who are you to decide who my own brother is?!”

“He doesn’t even know you! Blood or not, he is not yours! He’s ours! And it was always his decision to be with us!”

Mara sneered at the smaller girl. “You really should not have been built, you insignificant malfunction.”

Cypress paused. Her whole body shook. The whispers wanted her to close the distance between them both. She wanted desperately to wrap her hands around Mara’s neck and choke the life out of her.

Sertia placed her hand on her shoulder. The Reploid slowly relaxed, looking over at the woman not even looking her queen in the eye now.

“Let’s go,” she said. “She won’t help us.”

“Only just bitch about Uldren’s choices in life,” Jolyon added in a murmur, making Cypress have a bit of a smile.

The three began to walk back the way they came. Mara watched them go with visible frustration. But what was she frustrated about? She was the one who abandoned her people when they needed her the most, leaving an otherworldly assassin organization to do the basic humane thing.

“Just a warning,” she called. “The causal loop has set in motion. Once you emerge from my court, you will be back where it all began within the Dreaming City.”

Cypress paused. That would be when they were in the ship, exiting it to enter the unknown territory. Sertia would be in the bushes, and she would open fire on Taken, saving their lives. But most of all, Krolia would be there, alive and well. And her fate can be changed.

“Good,” Cypress shot back before leaping through the white light once more.

The same feeling through her body returned for a few seconds. Not hot or cold, but a numb feeling. It felt like the atoms in her body disassembled for a few seconds before rebuilding again. The Awoken really need to work on the nauseous impact of their teleportation technology. Or maybe it was going in and out of a throne world that caused it. She’ll have to ask Leo what exactly a throne world was.

When she opened her eyes, she felt the cool interior of the shuttle ship. Everybody else was there, including the Blades that had perished. All were momentarily stunned, looking around with confused or shocked faces.

Keith let go of his hand grip and ran to the cockpit, Kosmo in short pursuit. “Mom! Mom!”

Krolia opened the door. She looked worst of all, shaken up by the sudden jump between death and life for her. Still, she let Keith launch himself into her arms, sobbing. Kosmo began to howl in mourning as well.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I thought I could make it through the final day.”

Leo looked saddened. “But now you’re on the same path as the Corsairs are...a neverending death.”

Electricity crackled through the air. Cypress looked over at Uldren, who was standing within the ship interior. His Arc staff had come to his hand while an expression of pure determination crossed his face.

“It will not. Happen again. I swear on it.”

Uldren’s words were just a hollow comfort. They’ve all seen what happened to the Corsairs. How they wished for their next death to be the last one. They don’t even know how to begin to end this devastation.

Still, the way he said it made them all smile. It was like he just pledged his life service to ending the causal loop and saving their leader. It made it feel like things might just be okay after all.


	4. The Rising Competition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters in chapter:  
> -Silkris  
> -Allura  
> -Variks  
> -Mithrax  
> -Eramis
> 
> Chapter summary:  
> While building the House of World Life, Allura finds another colony of Eliksni are much more hostile to her reign.

Silkris made a cooing noise, shifting around in the custom-made backpack he sat in, which laid on the floor next to the throne of the Kell of Kells. Allura reached over to pet his head. He reached into the touch, making a squeal of pleasure.

The Eliksni had been correct. The entire House had received the news of Allura becoming Kell of Kells with such delight. Variks and Mithrax themselves were shocked. However, they eventually admitted that nobody else could fit the role better.

To not stand out, Allura put aside her Paladin armor. Instead, she was wearing a different outfit, one with colors resembling the Eliksni people more. She wore mostly brown and black, but had a blueish-green cape of feathers draped onto her back. And right on top of that was Silkris’s transport backpack, complete with a little holder for a handcrafted doll he seemed to enjoy a lot.

Being the Kell of Kells came much more naturally to Allura than she expected. It was much like being the ruler of a pocket-sized kingdom. The most major problems were Zuriks Prime beginning to break down again or skirmishes near the cave they hid out in. She could handle those with little issue.

The House of Dusk, splintered to almost beyond repair, recollected itself within a few days. They renamed themselves the House of World Life, in honor of the quintessence Allura can manipulate that also serves as the lifeforce of entire planets. And by the day, more and more Eliksni came to the cave. It turned from a ramshackle place of survival to an underground home for many.

Of course, with the larger population came the Ether problem. They only had one Prime Servitor. While it was able to feed the Eliksni population now, judging by the sharp increase of arrivals to this sanctuary, it wouldn’t be able to for long. A second Servitor had to be created, or at least found.

Then came another situation. First, an Archon knowing how to construct at least a normal Servitor did not exist among the House of World Life. Most of them knew how to repair one, not make one out of scratch. If they did not have the knowledge of building, a Servitor had to be found on its own, which was a nigh impossible chance of occurring. And Allura did not like the idea of stealing a Servitor from any standalone Eliksni groups.

She had just summoned Variks forward to talk about this problem. He has survived many things. He might know what to do when facing this potential food shortage.

Variks nodded as she spoke. <“A good worry, yes? You really do think ahead.”>

<“Oh, it’s natural,”> Allura admitted, leaning forward slightly on her throne. <“But what can we do about it?”> She had been perfecting her Eliksni, having been here for about two months now and working hard on more fluent communications.

<“Of course, as you said, we would need a Fallen Archon with the knowledge of construction. One like that has a chance of showing up on their own, hearing rumors of the Kell of Kells rising from the White Messiah.”>

<”But what if they don’t?”> Allura pressed while making sure Silkris didn’t leave her line of vision. He was currently lying on the ground, napping with his doll.

<”Then we will have to seek them out ourselves,”> Variks responded. <”I may have a good idea on where we can look.”>

<”Tell me, then.”>

<”Many Eliksni come from a specific location not too far from here. A couple of miles east or so. They call it Gorge of Ruins. They also say that many more Eliksni reside there, getting ready to leave to House of World Life. However, this was many days ago. Eliksni from the Gorge of Ruins stopped migrating here, but there are many more, according to whispers in the people.”>

<”Then why have they not come here yet?”> Allura asked.

<”They say they were coming here because of danger. I can’t say for sure what the danger is, but if there is any clue of an Archon or Servitor there, they may be in a grave situation.”>

<”I see.”> Allura got up from her throne. <”Tell one of my Archons to watch over Silkris while we assemble a team to investigate the Gorge.”>

<”As you wish, my Kell.”> Variks knelt, bowing his head. Then, he got up and scurried away, leaving Allura to begin fastening on her cloak and grabbing her bayard.

The Eliksni people had fled to the only planet untouched by the Alliance. Besides the occasional Guardian patrol, it had been left abandoned once the theocratic government was abolished for a more democratic one. The sudden spike in available soldiers and plans to expand the borders of the Last City drove the Eliksni out of what homes they knew. It was saddening to see that the success of one community would lead to the near downfall of another.

The initial attack on Timeline Prime from the Umbra Mondo resulted in the genocide of numerous species. While the Eliksni managed to pull through and survive, they were left severely scattered and undermanned. What groups managed to settle together most likely had to scrap by with barely anything. Most groups probably did not even have Servitors.

The Gorge of Ruins where the group they were looking for stayed in was dug deep into the ground. It was a wide crack with Titan’s water dripping down in streams. Multiple skiffs were parked at the edge, but nobody was manning them.

Allura walked up to one. Lowering her bayard, she placed her hand on the shell of the skiff. There was no sign of collecting dust. These had been parked recently.

<“These haven’t been left behind,”> she reported to the Eliksni behind her, led by Mithrax. <“There are Eliksni here.”>

<“But then where are they?”> Mithrax questioned. <”Shall we call down the gorge for them?”>

Allura immediately raised a hand to stop him. <“No. Something is wrong. We shall enter quietly.”>

About five of their soldiers stayed on the surface. They were to watch over the skiffs and report anything suspicious. Meanwhile, Allura would lead the rest of the team into the gorge to investigate further.

There were no lights within the deep crevice. They had to descend by ropes to whatever rocky platform there was. Allura pressed her feet to stabilize herself against the rocks while they descended.

She could see walkways and large holes carved into the gorge walls. The Eliksni must have made shelter with what they could. Then where were the Eliksni themselves?

Gunfire rang in Allura’s ears, and her head whipped up. One of the Eliksni descending with them fell from their rope. Their body hit the ground with a crack. They didn’t move afterwards.

<”Hostiles!”> Allura yelled. Her bayard shifted into a survival knife, bending into what she wanted from it. She slashed through the rope holding her, and dropped just in time to avoid a spray of more bullets.

The rest of the Eliksni managed to get down, too. There wasn’t any time to look upon their fallen sibling. They scurried behind a large rock formation, pressing their backs against it.

<”Peace!”> Allura tried to yell over the guns. <”We mean no harm! We want to talk to your Kell!”>

<”Don’t try,”> Mithrax told her. <”It is obvious they want to kill us. They would have tried to speak to us before opening fire otherwise.”>

Allura frowned, but nodded. <”Return fire!”> She commanded. Her bayard shifted into its whip, and she ducked out from hiding to lash it forward.

As she poked out, she could see there was a whole gang of Eliksni with guns. Most of them were wearing red cloaks, but a few didn’t have the noticeable color. Her whip wrapped around a vandal, who was yanked off of his perch and subject to death by falling deeper into the chasm.

<”They wear red!”> She reported as her Eliksni opened fire in return. <”Red cloaks!”>

Mithrax hissed, unsheathing his shock blades. <”House of Devils! A broken and violent house.”>

<”The same who tried to steal the SIVA gun a few months back?”> Allura questioned.

<”Correct. I believed they were vanquished. I seem to have been wrong.”>

<”They must be the danger the Gorge of Ruin Eliksnis spoke of,”> one of Allura’s captains theorized. <”There are so many of them sieging us.”>

<”Kell of Kells, they will overrun us with numbers alone,”> Mithrax reported. <”And there is nowhere to flee to. What can we do?”>

<”Fight back!”> Allura snarled before calling upon the bayard’s power once more. When it turned into a full auto pulse rifle, she leaned out of hiding and began to spray.

While there were a lot more in numbers, just one look at their armor told Allura everything. It looked to be pulled together from whatever they could find. Her plasma bullets passed through them like butter and downed them in one shot.

Most of the Eliksni knew immediately she overwhelmed them in firepower. The ones in the red cloaks began to retreat deeper into the gorge. However, the ones who didn’t wear the colors dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.

<“Don’t shoot!”> They cried. <“Please do not shoot!”>

Immediately, Allura signalled her Eliksni. They stopped firing, but did not lower or put away their guns. Slowly, they emerged, staring at the Eliksni across the gorge.

<“Are you the White Messiah?”> one of them asked.

<“I am,”> Allura answered with a nod before looking at her Eliksni. <“I am also called the Kell of the House of World Life, and Kell of Kells.”>

The Eliksni with no colors lowered their arms. <“It is true?”> one questioned. <“You have taken the title?”>

Allura laughed a bit. <“The Eliksni that I now command would accept nobody else.”> She let herself frown. <“What happened? Why is the House of Devils here?”>

<“They were led here by their leader,”> the Eliksni said while gesturing up at the cavern entrance. <”A Baroness named Eramis. They took our people hostage and forced us to take arms when we heard your approach.”>

Mithrax made a hiss of annoyance. <“Eramis, the Shipstealer! I should have known.”>

Allura looked. <“I will guess that she was the one who led House of Devils to attempt to take Outbreak Perfected.”>

<“Correct. According to Variks, she used to be a prisoner in the Prison of Elders. When the Scorn broke out more than a year ago, so did all of the other residents. Eramis is a House of Devils Baroness who seems to also vie for the title of Kell of Kells.”>

Allura gave a scowl. <“If holding Eliksni people at gunpoint is how she plans to do it, I don’t believe they will be on her side. Where is she?”>

<“Deeper within the gorge,”> one of the Gorge Eliksni responded. <“She also has the rest of us there.”>

Allura nodded, and looked at two of her soldiers. <“Make sure you and these Eliksni can get out and warn the House of what is going on in the Gorge. They might target us next.”>

<“By your orders, our Kell.”> One of the soldiers gave her a polite kneel. Then, they turned and began to walk up the steep incline that led into the gorge, followed by the surrendered Eliksni.

She turned to the rest of them. <“All of you be careful as we descend further,”> she warned. <“If they spot us first, it could very well seal our fate.”>

The Eliksni nodded at her, and prepared their weapons. They took point with Allura following behind.

The gorge went deep into the darkness. Any and all lights had been extinguished. However, Allura could see Eliksni bodies, and Ether pooled around them. The takeover from the House of Devils was a violent one.

<“This was a bloodbath,”> Allura remarked.

<“The Eliksni who had come from the gorge were lucky to have left in time,”> Mithrax noted. <“Not only did they escape a terrible fate, they were able to warn us before the same could happen to us.”>

Allura frowned. <“Do you think the House of Devils could really overrun us?”>

<“Perhaps if we didn’t arrive at the cave, and you never became Kell of Kells,”> Mithrax answered with sadness in his tone.

Suddenly, a hand was raised by a Captain. <“Quiet! I hear something.”>

The entire group went silent. Allura transformed her bayard into its glaive form and slowly walked to the front of the group. Placing a hand on the rocks, she peeked down a turn in the carved passageway.

She only pulled her head back fast enough to not get about eight bullets buried into her face. One of them grazed her nose, and blood dripped down from it onto her chest.

<“Open fire!”> she yelled as more guns began to light up from each side.

As the gorge was set ablaze by gunfire once more, Allura tried to peek to see what they were up against. There were five House of Devils vandals guarding a large entrance. She could see lights and structures through it as more armed House of Devils Eliksni appeared through the entrance.

Allura ducked her head back. <“They are at the entrance to the home of the Eliksni in the gorge! Reinforcements are coming for them, too!”>

Mithrax clicked his mandibles in frustration. <“We do not need this. The entire House must be here!”>

<“Which should not be large!”> Allura argued. <“Most of their numbers were killed trying to claim Outbreak Perfected. All they are doing is lining themselves up for me.”>

Mithrax watched as Allura pulled out her bayard pulse rifle. <“You really don’t give them a fair fight with that.”>

<“And you are complaining about that?”>

<“No, not at all. Go right ahead.”>

Allura peeked out of hiding again, and unleashed a storm of plasma. The House of Devils were mowed down in an instant, only for more to replace them and continuing to fire upon them.

Allura covered her head again. <“More keep coming!”> she yelled.

One of the Eliksni leaned out. <“Plasma grenade!”> they screeched before lobbing it straight into the crowd of opposition.

After a moment, an explosion erupted from the center. Both rock particles and Eliksni bodies flung up into the air in a ragdoll manner. Ether from their bodies splashed out onto the ground as the ground trembled slightly.

<“Move in! Move in!”> Allura waited for some of her men to go through the entrance before she did herself, placing herself in the middle of the pack.

The corner of houses was half-destroyed and collapsed in on itself. Allura could see a large amount of Eliksni having no colors guarded by House of Devil soldiers. There was also what appeared to be a Prime Servitor amongst the hostages.

The entire area had what remained of the House of Devils crowding in it. And Allura actually noticed there weren’t that many of them. They didn’t even seem to have a Prime Servitor of their own. Maybe they were just driven to these extremes out of a need of survival.

On the other side of the carved out area was who had to be Eramis. She was in the middle of armed House of Devil guards who had their guns raised at the new arrivals. They quickly pointed their firearms in return.

“Allura, right?”

Allura paused. “You can speak English?”

“Who doesn’t?” Eramis snarked. “Everyone knows in Eliksni school they teach barbarian languages for your secondary tongue.”

Allura rolled her eyes. <“Speak so we all can understand.”>

Eramis barked in laughter. “Oh, look at you! You cater to the people you don’t even have the right to rule! What a slimy goody two-shoes you are.”

<“What do you want with these Eliksni?”> Allura demanded.

Eramis sighed, as if the answer was obvious. <“What else? To unite them under one banner as Kell of Kells.”>

<“Kidnapping and slaughtering others does not count as uniting!”> Allura argued. <“To unite, one must have the people’s favor on their side!”>

<“You are so uncouth. Our entire society is based on survival of the fittest. Then one little outsider comes along, spewing out faithless promises, and we all go soft and malleable? Ha! You can never be Kell of Kells, little female.”>

Allura groaned. She seemed more tired of Eramis then threatened. <“Really, then? And you are any better than me?”>

<“Do you think I am not?”> Eramis pulled out multiple shock blades. “Why don’t we settle this fairly, hm?”>

Allura watched Eramis twirl the blades. She was obviously an expert with them. Any hit from them, and it could be over for her. So, she just gave a simple shrug and blew Eramis’s legs off with her pulse rifle, watching her crash facefirst on the ground.

Mithrax gaped. <“Allura!”> he exclaimed.

<“I need not to show you any sort of honor!”> Allura snapped at the Baroness. <“You endanger the lives of an entire colony of Eliksni, proceed to threaten mine, and then ask for something you don’t show to others? I don’t need to prove myself to somebody as deluded as you are!”>

Eramis hissed, trying to push herself up off the ground. <“You...”>

<“You WHAT?! Slimy goody two-shoes? Little female? The Kell of Kells?!”> Allura listened as a gasp echoed throughout the area, but she didn’t stop. <“You just said it was the survival of the fittest. So why should I show any honor in a society like that, Shipstealer?!”>

Eramis began to laugh. Everyone stared at her and Allura, tension thick in the air. Allura was ready to shoot her again if she tried anything.

<“Looks like I was wrong,”> she commented as Ether leaked out of her mangled legs. <“You really do...have what it takes.”>

Allura slightly lowered the rifle, nodding a bit. <“Th...Thank you.”>

Eramis nodded a bit. <“Good job...really...good job...”>

Allura lowered her rifle completely when Eramis’s head hit the ground and didn’t lift up again. One more breath left her body, and then it was all over. Eramis the Shipstealer was dead.

When Allura turned to the side, the House of Devils Eliksni were placing their weapons on the ground. They were kneeling towards her, bowing their heads in utmost respect.

Allura let out a breath she had been holding in for a long moment, then looked around. Everybody was beginning to kneel for her in turn, even the Eliksni who lived in the gorge. She had really become the Kell of Kells to them.

“This will definitely happen again.”

Allura looked over at Mithrax. “Huh?”

“As the House of World Life continues to grow, it will gain the attention of more powerful foes. It will be a long fight before we can completely unite the Eliksni people.”

Allura nodded, smiling a bit. “Then I will fight. Everyone will, to finally reach the future these people deserve.”

“And that is why the people have chosen you as Kell of Kells. Our bastion of hope.”

Allura smiled, and raised her pulse rifle. The Eliksni cheered at once, a resounding wave of acceptance. Within their history, a new chapter has been reached.


	5. At Wit's End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters in chapter:
> 
> -Uldren  
> -Pulled Pork  
> -Keith  
> -Krolia  
> -Cypress  
> -Jolyon Till  
> -Kamui  
> -Nythera  
> -Petra Venj  
> -Sertia Mim  
> -Parisia  
> -Kurami
> 
> Chapter summary:  
> The loop starts up a second time, and a decision is made in Insurrection's Abyss on what to do about it.

Uldren’s body went skidding back from a shot to the chest. His corpse slammed into one of the civilian district’s buildings, then fell to the ground. After a moment, Pulled Pork emerged and revived him as fast as possible while being given protection by the rest of the Blades.

The motions up until today had been the same as before. Almost too similar to last time to be anything but freaky. The only person who really was able to do things differently was Uldren. Sertia said it likely was something to do with the amount of Light the Traveler placed within Guardians that he was able to resist the machinations of the causal loop without much difficulty.

However, this was the last day of the third week. This was the day that Krolia died. That’s why not only the Blade team that initially set out the previous loop was there, but every soldier they had accompanied them as well. The goal was to get the amethyst shard without that Taken sniper getting the drop on their leader once more.

This time, the civilian district street was not a mere scuffle, with the Taken outnumbering the small deployed group. Instead, it was a full-blown war, guns and magic spells arching through the air while entire buildings collapsed.

As Uldren lifted his head, he spat out blood onto the ground. Grunting, he reached out for his Marmora blade he dropped, which was now lying a few feet away from him.

A large force slammed into him, shrieking with an ethereal undertone. The hands of a Taken thrall were on his neck in an instant. Before he had time to react, he was pinned to the ground and being choked out.

Reaching for the Marmora blade would take too much time. Instead, Uldren pulled the knife out from the sheath strapped to his thigh. With all of his strength, he swung it into the side of the thrall’s skull.

After a few moments, the body went limp, and Uldren was able to push it off of him. He sucked in deep breaths while getting up on his feet. He also made sure to grab his Marmora knife and willed the Luxite within it to transform into its sword form. He began to run back the way he was launched from to continue the fight.

Kamui was stepping back from a large group of Taken. He glanced to make sure nobody was watching before his head suddenly shifted into a draconic visage with deer-like horns. He blew the Taken crowd back with draconic fire that incinerated them all before quickly shifting back and trying to realign his tostled hair.

Nythera and Leo were side by side. The former was launching elemental magic of all kinds at their long-ranged foes. Leo was using the plants around them to lash out at any Taken who approached with the wrath of Brynhildr.

Cypress was charging ahead, her Umbric runes arm glowing purple with every swing. With her pulse rifle, Sertia laid down covering fire for her. Those two alone were making quick work of their adversaries. Surprisingly, despite their differences in fighting styles, they worked almost perfectly in tandem, like their partnership was meant to be.

Jolyon was on the rooftops, keeping his scopes on Krolia and Keith. They both had their backs to each other, staying away from the larger crowds and picking off any stragglers. Every countermeasure they could think of was being deployed to prevent Krolia’s supposed repeated death.

Uldren ran back to Krolia and Keith’s side. “We really are kicking ass,” he commented dryly.

Keith chuckled, but it was forced, and Uldren could tell he was almost dangerously distracted. “Anything to protect my mom, no?”

As the destructive skirmish continued, it could be heard for miles around. Even ones hearing it while crouched on the nearby hills could see the colors of gunfire and Nythera’s elemental magic from their camping spots.

From her coat, Kurami was pulling out an ebony telescope that she surveyed the civilian district with. “Mm-hmm...Yup. Those guys really are going to town there.”

As she put it away, Parisia turned over the battleaxe in her hands. “Why are we here exactly, Kurami?”

“Well, it’s kind of obvious.” Kurami stood up from her crouching position. “So we can figure out how to override this loop.”

Parisia sighed. “Guiding Uldren on his path again, are we?”

“Come on, you know why he’s so important. You know how valuable he will be to destroying that Shadow King guy.”

“Yes, but such a future can backfire on you,” Parisia pointed out as she lowered her axe to her side. “Don’t you want to rule the Umbra Mondo?”

“Of course! With Redwood as my king and darling Donella as my lil’ heir!”

“Then if Uldren’s future is one we strive for, don’t you think that it would prevent you in question from taking the throne?”

Kurami huffed. “Come on, he has no sights on it. It’ll be fine. That seat will just be all for me, even if I’m not the one who...you know.” She gave a careless hand wave. “So, what’s the route?”

Parisia looked up. “Krolia should be shot right about...” She gestured a hand as a single, loud gunshot echoed down their way, followed by a piercing scream. “Now.”

Kurami winced. “Jeesh. Poor kid. That’s the second time he’s seen his mom die, now.”

Parisia watched the civilian district, seeing the gunfire and magic beginning to cease. “No child should watch their mother die.”

Kurami paused. Her mind immediately went to the idea of Takumi standing there as Redwood plunged his own scythe into his chest. “Or any kind of parent, to be exact. That’s not a thing the young should see.”

Parisia shook her head. “In a couple of hours, the loop will reset, so let’s just say what we are to say, then go.”

“Well, you know how you and I can enter and leave this causal loop and resist its effects with zero effort. Why do you think that is?”

“Because we have the powers of pure time and darkness, while the creation of this causal loop is from a lesser form of both,” Parisia answered.

“Now you've said it.” Kurami grinned. “You’ve just openly said how we’re going to fix the Dreaming City.”

Parisia paused, running through her words in her head. Then, she snapped her head back up. “We’re going to override the magic with our own?”

“It’s the only way I can think of,” Kurami admitted. “You got something better, Pari girl?”

“Well, no, but...A combination of our different magic is bound to have some friction. Pure time and pure darkness colliding to destroy a mixture of lesser forms of both?”

Kurami made a circling motion with her hand. “Simplify your speech there.”

Parisia sighed. “There will be excess magic. Exactly, an unstable piece of leftovers that has to be routed to a body and soul.”

“Okay, and?”

“Which will definitely destroy said body and soul. If we do go down this way, either one of us dies and endangers the other with this risky spell, or we use a focal point.”

Kurami tilted her head a bit. “Like a human sacrifice?”

“If you want to put it in such a negative colloquial term, then...yes, like a human sacrifice.”

“Though I don’t understand,” Kurami remarked. “Can we use, like, an Umbrati or Taken?”

“Theoretically, but...possibly not. I’m thinking more along the lines of a body with a balanced or normal soul. Not one consumed by any kind of darkness or light.”

Kurami nodded slowly. “So...can we just use one of the Corsairs that dies in the loop that’s about to happen? I mean, they do wanna die, anyways.”

“Kurami!” Parisia looked offended at her partner.

Said partner backed off. “Hey, hey, hey! I’m just stating the facts, Pari girl!”

After a moment, Parisia relaxed. “No...We can’t. The causal loop is strongest in the third week, the opportune time to break it. All but one of the Corsairs are dead by then.”

Kurami began to visibly think. “Then...leaving it up to Venjful would be a good idea, no?”

“The one who wants to murder the very person we’re trying to save?”

“Well...maybe?” Kurami shrugged. “I mean, this is her home. Doesn’t she have a right to decide who’s gonna test this theory of ours?”

“I’m afraid emotions will get the better of her,” Parisia admitted. “I don’t think it will be wise to put such a responsibility on her.”

“You say that as if you don’t trust her.”

Parisia narrowed her eyes in judgement. “And you do?”

Neither of them spoke anymore. After a few more moments of lingering within the causal loop, Kurami stepped back into darkness. Parisia followed shortly behind.

A few miles away, the amethyst shard was thrown against the cavern wall. It shattered upon impact, and the pieces rained down onto the floor.

Sertia turned, shocked at who had lobbed it. “Uldren?!”

“Nobody was planning on visiting her, anyways,” Uldren growled. “If she really wants to meet me so badly, she’ll just have to come to me.”

“I’m sorry,” Keith whispered, sitting on the cave floor. “We had our backs to each other. We all were watching her, but I was right there. I could have...”

“Do not put the blame on yourself when it’s mine,” Jolyon argued. “I really thought I had cleared the whole perimeter and made sure no snipers were in hiding. It’s my fault she got shot again.”

“It’s not either of your faults,” Leo snapped in a bitter tone. “The causal loop’s effects would have made sure Krolia’s death would have happened, one way or another. We did all that we could.”

“But it wasn’t-" Sertia softly began.

Leo suddenly looked at her with malice in his eyes. “Finish that sentence! Say it wasn’t enough!”

“We can do better next time.” Cypress immediately stepped in to make sure Leo didn’t launch at Sertia. “The causal loop will just bring her back. We can work on a way of breaking the loop while she’s with us. Then she can be saved.”

Leo stared at Cypress. He looked like he was about to strike her across the face. Sertia kept her hand on her pulse rifle across her back, ready to defend her friend.

“Of course,” he replied in a monotone manner. “At least Krolia has a chance at all.”

“Don’t do this, Leo.” Uldren’s voice came quiet and broken. “Please don’t bring him up.”

Leo stepped away from Cypress. “Takumi was murdered in cold blood, just as Krolia was now. What makes them so different than one deserves another chance and the other doesn’t? It’s not fair.”

“Can we not?” Jolyon sounded tired of this topic. “That’s all you whine about.”

Leo froze abruptly, staring right at Jolyon. “Whine,” he repeated slowly. “I whine.”

Jolyon ran a hand through his hair. “Takumi’s dead. Get the fuck over with it. Stop bringing it up again and again. Nobody wants to hear something like that repeated.”

Nythera suddenly stood up. “How dare you!”

Kamui looked shocked. “Whoa, Nythera! You’ve never been passionate about this topic before!”

Nythera marched past Kamui to get to Jolyon. “Takumi Himura is not a name we should just forget, Till. He was one with us and the people of the Alliance. His story should never be forgotten!”

“I’m not suggesting that!” Jolyon began to let anger creep into his voice.

Sertia felt a hand grab her wrist. As the others began to argue, the second loop taking the toll on their emotions, Cypress began to pull her out of the cave. She didn’t resist, letting the smaller Reploid pull her along.

Outside was more peaceful. While the shouting followed them out, at least it was harder to hear. The two girls began to step through the wildlife around them forward.

“Does that happen often?” Sertia asked.

“Every time Takumi’s name is brought up,” Cypress responded in a tired manner. “Leo should be kicked out if that’s his entire character arc.”

Sertia frowned. “Weren’t they dating?”

“On and off,” Cypress clarified. “It’s no reason to keep whining about it after a good...what, nine or ten or so months after the event?”

“He really won’t let it die, will he?” Sertia commented in a sad tone.

“Trust me. It’s just as Jolyon said. All of us wish he did. And he really did not need to bring it up now of all times.” Cypress huffed, tilting her head back a bit. “Completely uncalled for.”

Sertia nodded. “I see. I never knew him, so...”

“If you are about to ask me what he was like, I would prefer you not. I would just like to forget all about him and move on with my life.”

“Right. Got it. Sorry.” Still, Sertia looked back over her shoulder at the cavern, everyone’s yelling still faintly heard, but beginning to tone down.

“The loop will start again really soon now.” Cypress stopped walking. “We’ll be meeting you again soon.”

Sertia smiled a bit. “Seeing your shuttle land always gives me a bit of hope. Not as much as the first time it appeared, but...Well, let’s just see if it excites me again the third time around.”

Cypress smiled in return. “Probably not.” Both girls gave a giggle. “But it is always nice to see you waiting for us.”

“Even when I don’t have a choice in the matter?” Both laughed again, and Cypress found herself enamored by Sertia’s restored demeanor. “And the same goes for you, Cypress.”

Cypress blinked, shaking off her momentary stun. “Huh? Just me?”

“You’re the person who’s gotten to know me the best,” Sertia replied. “Seeing you every time makes this neverending hell a bit more bearable. I get to learn so many things that are going on outside of this place, and it gets me so excited to see them for myself with you!”

Cypress’s face began to heat up. “Sorry, with me?”

Sertia paused, her excited grin fading a bit. “Is that not what you want?”

“O-Oh no!” Cypress stammered. “I would very much like that! I was just taken by surprise, that’s all!”

Sertia’s expression softened immediately. “Ah, good. I thought I had scared you for a moment.”

Cypress stared up at the taller woman, hands by her sides. Her internal systems seemed to race a little faster now every time that damn smile appeared on her face. But why was that? Did Sertia have some technomancy powers that affected her via eye contact? No, Awoken don’t have that ability.

“...I would like to take you to the Last City,” Cypress admitted. “And I would let you drag me around, wherever you want to go. It’ll all be on me.”

Sertia’s face lit up, and that set Cypress’s systems into hauling more horsepower. “Really?! That would be amazing! Like a shopping spree!”

“Yea...a friendly neighborhood waltz.” Cypress’s lips curled up in a sweet and genuine smile. “All we need to do is fix this causal loop and save Krolia. Then I can take you there.”

There was hope. Despite it all, no matter what hell Sertia had gone through, she now had a reason to go on. Cypress was such a powerful motive to continue, despite the depressing loop Sertia had been subjected to for more than a year now. Her heart felt just a bit lighter as the days passed.

That’s why Sertia was leaning down now. On impulse, she nearly had her lips to Cypress’s before a rustle sent them both upright.

As jumpy as ever, Cypress drew her blade and readied her fist. “Announce your presence!” She yelled to whoever made the noise.

There was a sigh, and somebody stepped over the undergrowth. “The last Corsair under my command has to be one that goes chasing after unrealistic dreams? Give me a break.”

Sertia gasped, recognizing the face corrupted with darkness. “Petra Venj. The Acting Regent-Commander who went missing in the early days of the causal loop.”

Cypress narrowed her eyes. “I remember you. You tried to take Uldren away from us about ten months ago. You completely vanished after that.”

“Not like I had a choice,” Petra remarked. “I ran afoul of some people who didn’t really like what Mara was trying to do.”

Sertia paused. “You called her by her first name.”

“Admittedly, I’ve had my fair share of disillusionment as well,” she admitted, walking forward still. “I had a reason to not help my Corsairs. She did not. She decided to sit up on her cloud nine and watch the show.”

Cypress immediately backed up, keeping Sertia close. “Do not approach any closer, or I will take your movement as a sign of hostility.”

Petra stopped walking, but frowned. “I just want to talk. And hopefully have a complete solution to the causal loop.”

“You have a way to break it?” Sertia gasped again.

“My quote-on-quote ‘friends’ have the specific power to,” Petra explained. “To be exact, the abilities of pure darkness and chronomancy to outrival this Taken corruption. But in order to break the loop, they need to reroute a lot of their excess magic into a focal point. A living focal point.”

At once, Cypress’s arm flared up in a purple fire. “If you DARE come near Sertia, I will rend your bones, Venj!”

Petra seemed unfazed by the threat. “Think about it. The causal loop can be broken before your leader dies. The optimal time is in the third week, but that doesn’t mean we need to wait until the last minute for the magic to work. Your leader can live.”

“And why should we trust you?” Cypress snarled. “You’ve been hostile to us all the time we’ve known you!”

“I was under orders from the queen,” Petra simply replied. “Now, I’m under orders from my ‘friends’.”

“I’m not buying anything you speak of, you cheap-”

Sertia suddenly spoke up. “So I’m the last Corsair living by the third week. Which means I’m the only non-Blade of Marmora besides Jolyon Till that can act as this...living focal point.”

Petra turned her attention to Sertia. “Correct.”

“Will I die if I do this?”

“They said the chances were very likely,” Petra admitted. “You won’t walk away unscathed, that’s for sure.”

Sertia paused. Then, she looked at Cypress ready to pounce. She redirected her gaze to Petra. Cypress, Petra, and then Cypress one more time.

“I’m sorry.”

Cypress immediately looked at Sertia. Her entire body tensed, and her eyes went wide. “No.”

“None of your Blade friends will die. My duty as Corsair is to protect the Dreaming City. If this is the way to do it, then so be it.”

“None of them are my friends!” Cypress suddenly yelled. “The only one I was even close to was Faro, and he’s gone! YOU are my friend!”

Sertia began stepping away from Cypress. “I’m sorry for getting your hopes up, then.”

“SERTIA!” Cypress lunged at the Awoken, ready to tackle her entire body into her back.

Petra streaked forward and hit Cypress back with a wave of her hand. A sudden shockwave of dark energy sent Cypress back, but did not harm her. The Reploid managed to skid in the dirt, placing her feet firmly down to avoid toppling over.

All around her, the environment began to fade. The loop was restarting. And Sertia was getting farther away.

Sertia turned again to look back at Cypress. She watched her get up, scrambling in the mud, then run towards her with a startling amount of speed.

“Goodbye, I guess.” She turned her head away again once the darkness began to pull her forward out of the loop.

Cypress screamed. She propelled her entire body forward, but grabbed nothing but darkness, the last remnants of the portal Petra and Sertia exited out of. The world was slipping, pulling, warping, darkening-

Her entire body jostled forward in the shuttle. She tripped on her own feet, and her body hit the floor facefirst with an awful smack. She could feel the exoskeleton of her face dent a bit.

“Cypress!” Kamui yelled, getting up from the seat he had reappeared in.

As Krolia ran out of the cockpit, just like before, Cypress felt herself grabbed and lifted up. She looked up to see Jolyon stabilizing her on her two feet, looking concerned at her.

“What happened?” He asked. “Are you alright?”

“Land the fucking ship!” Cypress screamed at nobody in particular. “Land it already!”

Krolia ran to her, obviously worried. “Cypress, it’s alright. I’m fine now. We can do it again. There’s another chance.”

“Sertia! They took Sertia!” Cypress gasped.

Uldren suddenly looked concerned. “What? Who took Sertia?”

“Petra! The missing Regent-Commander! She...She was corrupted by darkness, and talked about...destroying the causal loop, but needed a living focal point, and SHE FUCKING TOOK SERTIA!”

Jolyon grabbed Cypress’s shoulders. “What?! Petra Venj?! Cypress, speak clearly here!”

The ship landed, and Cypress shoved him off. She was the first one to run out of the shuttle hangar, immediately running off into the exact area where Sertia would camp out and shoot at the Taken that would appear after a minute.

She wasn’t there. There was nobody but Cypress crashing through the bushes and yelling Sertia’s name on repeat. No footprints laid in the mud. No covering fire was received. Not even a voice welcomed here.

She felt truly isolated. Not even the thought of the Blade of Marmora right behind her made her feel any less lonely. It was like a lifeline had suddenly just been cut, leaving nothing but a deep aching feeling in her chest.

She fell to her knees, then let her forehead press against the dirt. And even as the others began to fight against the Taken that always arrived, she did nothing but despair.


	6. The Fanatic and the Free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters in chapter:
> 
> -Allura  
> -Mithrax  
> -Variks  
> -Scorned Barons
> 
> Chapter summary:  
> Allura confronts one of the biggest obstacles in becoming the official Kell of Kells.

<“Scorn were spotted at the edges of our territory, my Kell.”>

Allura paused. She had just then been raising a cup of tea to her lips. Now, it hovered there close to her face, clutched between her hands. She stared at the Eliksni vandal who had just told this to her.

Slowly, she turned to Variks. <“Is this true?”> She asked with a hint of hesitation.

Sadly, he nodded. <“It is, my Kell. And they are approaching us at a fast pace.”>

At once, Allura stood up. <“Then we shall meet them. Be ready for a fight.”>

He bowed. <“I shall get those who can fight ready to defend themselves, my Kell.”>

Scorn was a name Allura hasn’t heard for a long time. The last time it came up to her, it was over eight months ago, when those Scorned Barons kidnapped Carla. Teams had been dispatched to kill the Barons and save Carla, and in the process, Rowan had begun his awakening of his powers as Light Incarnate. After that, it was presumed the threat was said and done, but if Scorn still existed, that could genuinely be a problem.

Allura walked to the mouth of the cave. Silkris was still riding in the backpack over her shoulder, making small cooing sounds. She stepped over a few more rocks to take a position next to a crowd of what captains and archons they had.

<“Situation?”> she asked to Mithrax.

The World Life Captain handed her a pair of binoculars while he leaned forward. <“See for yourself.”>

Allura nodded and held up the binoculars to her eyes. They were fashioned to Eliksni standards, so there were four lenses for each Eliksni eye. She lined up the two inner lenses to her vision to stare forward properly.

After a few moments, she lowered them. <“I see them on the ridge,”> she commented. <“But they aren’t moving positions. They aren’t coming towards us.”>

<“Waiting for us to come to them, yes?”> Variks theorised while walking up.

Allura frowned. <“Must we? Going to them may be an act of submissiveness.”>

<“Thinking of the subtle tones to one’s actions, are we?”> Variks teased.

<“This is a serious situation,”> Allura answered. <“I have to.”> She then made a sweeping gesture to signal the troops there. <“Station here and watch the Scorn. If they approach us or leave, send somebody to tell me at once.”> She turned to walk back into the cave.

The first few hours passed by with no news updates. Life continued on within the House of World Life. Meanwhile, Allura could only drum her fingers on the armrests of her throne and wait for any news to arrive.

When the fourth hour was up, news did arrive, in the form of a dreg creeping up. Once they approached, Allura immediately sat up in her throne, almost relieved for the change.

<“They came to us, but only in a pack of eight,”> the dreg explained. <“The rest stayed behind. They are requesting to see the Kell of this house.”>

Allura got up from her seat. <“I will be there.”>

Upon arriving back to the entrance of the cave, she stopped. Her heart dropped in her body, and her breath caught. She tried her damndest to not show her sudden fear on her face, and continued to walk forward after a second.

She recognized the eight Scorn. She had helped Mega Man X and Mithrax kill one of them: Hiraks, the Mindbender. All eight of the Barons had been confirmed dead in the hunt for them, save for Fikrul, who had escaped. And yet, all eight were standing at the mouth of the cave unscathed, weapons out but not opening fire.

Fikrul was the one who spoke when she approached. “You are far from the safety of your little hiding hole, Alliance member.”

Allura merely shrugged a shoulder and gave a small ‘hm’ in response. As if that wasn’t the most obvious thing there was.

Fikrul leaned in and looked over her head. “We asked for the Kell of this house. Where are they?”

Allura responded, <“You are looking at her.”> As the Scorned Barons turned to look at her, she continued with, <“I am Allura, Kell of Kells and the leader of the House of World Life. What do you need?”>

There was a snarl from one of the other Barons. It looked to be Yaviks, the Rider, standing near the back of the group. “Bragging about being fluent within our native language, are we? Your head might be getting too big for your shoulders there.”

Allura merely tilted her head. <“As long as we can understand each other, I see no problem with speaking a different language than normal.”>

When Fikrul leaned forward to glare at her, Allura did not move back or budge at all. “Speak English.”

She only smiled calmly. <“Is that a demand? Because I will not listen to it.”>

Slowly, Fikrul leaned back, still leaning on his staff. He seemed to scrutinize her under his gaze. However, it was difficult to tell what he was thinking due to the helmet covering his entire face.

“You call yourself the Kell of Kells?”

<“I am the Kell of Kells,”> Allura responded. <“The Eliksni here have decreed me as such, and I am not one to deny the validity of the public opinion.”>

Fikrul gave a growl of disapproval, seeming to give in a bit. <“And you say this even when you are not an Eliksni yourself?”>

Allura smiled at the small victory of both now in the same language. <“Mara Sov was not an Eliksni, and she was the Kell of Kings.”>

<“And she was a horrible Kell,”> Fikrul pointed out. <“She did nothing beneficial for her own people, much less the House of Kings. Take one look at the condition of the Reef and tell me that she’s done good for it.”> He scoffed. <“Those soldiers in purple have done more for it in less than a year than she’s done her entire ruling.”>

<“I was merely using her as an example that a Kell does not have to be an Eliksni,”> Allura politely argued.

<“Yes, but she is also an example as to why a non-Eliksni should not be trusted with the title,”> Fikrul argued. <“Give me a reason why you would be any different than her.”>

<“You should be giving me a reason why you and your Scorn are here and near my House!”> Allura snarled in sudden ferocity.

At that, Fikrul laughed, causing the other Barons to chuckle. <“YOUR House? You really are letting power go to your head.”>

Allura noticed Pirrha lift up his rifle a bit higher. “We came here to spread our gift amongst these people.”

Allura wasted no time. Her bayard transformed mid-swing, and extended out in its whip form. It snaked around Pirrha’s rifle, and with one yank, the weapon was pulled right out of his hands. It arched through the air before clattering on the cavern ground a distance away.

The Eliksni behind Allura raised their guns as her whip turned into its sword form. <“Then if you are here to cause harm, I will warn you to leave before we take necessary precautions to protect not only our home, but the defenseless inside it.”>

On instinct, the Scorned Barons raised their weapons as well. Allura immediately moved back, ready to slash into any of them. Neither side opened fire or made the first move to initiate the firefight.

Fikrul seemed to look over Allura again. He stared past her and into the cave full of the House of World Life Eliksni. Then, he looked back at her again, as if considering something. The cave, then Allura. Cave, Allura.

Finally, a deep chuckle rose from his throat, and he lowered his staff. <“We leave, now.”>

Pirrha looked over at Fikrul. <“I-What?”> he questioned.

<“This House is not worth our time. Besides, if they really want to unite under one who will condemn them to hell, then so be it.”> Fikrul looked at Allura. <“Remember this, ‘Kell’-Not many Eliksni will be so receptive for the Kell of Kells to not be one of their own.”>

Allura’s face tightened, and she glared in return. <“I know. It is their own decision to follow me or not.”>

<“You are a strange person. Very well. We’ll see how far you go.”>

Fikrul turned around and began to walk off. After a few moments of tense staring, the other Barons slowly followed. The Eliksni continued to point their weapons at them as Allura lowered her sword.

She exhaled a deep breath, and her bayard turned back into its normal state. <“Make sure the Scorn leave for good,”> she commanded. <“I think I need a drink after that.”>

<“I think we all,”> one of the Eliksni replied in a snarky manner. <“That was extremely tense.”>

Allura slowly nodding, already turning to walk away. <“Indeed it was.”> She began to step back into the cave, leaving the guards to continue monitoring the Baron movement.

While Allura would call that confrontation a victory in her books, she was also unnerved by it. The Scorned Barons seemed confident that she would fail in the task of being the Kell of Kells. They did have a point in that some Eliksni would not take an Altean ruling over the entire species kindly. However, she still felt obligated to report the Barons’ return to the Alliance.

Allura first watched until the confirmation news came that the Scorn had officially left the area to parts unknown. Then, making sure her protective gear was on properly to shield her from the biting cold temperatures of Titan’s surface, she stepped outside to install a stable communications line.

Thanks to a woman named Sloane from the ruins of a place called the New Pacific Arcology, a good connection with the Alliance from Titan was constantly up and running. It’s how Allura was able to communicate updates on how things were going with her and the Eliksni.

She will always treasure the reaction she had garnered from the council when she had announced her new title of Kell of Kells. There had been a lot of swearing and hysterical laughter from Lucy-1, which Ikora commented was getting rarer nowadays, since the mysterious incident that had placed Cayde-6 in a coma. Ever since then, Lucy had been getting more and more serious and stern, as if now suddenly under pressure to. Any laughter from her now was a sudden gift.

Allura sat upon a rock formation, currently on the line with Shiro.  _ “Shit, are you serious?” _

It was rare for Shiro to swear, so Allura visibly flinched. “Y-Yes. The Scorned Barons are alive, all eight of them.”

_ “I know you wouldn’t lie, but...how? Seven were confirmed dead, and Fikrul just narrowly escaped Rowan and Kamui.”  _ Shiro sighed.  _ “I think I may need to start researching the biological components of Scorn more. For now, I can relay this to the Commander. Thank you for the heads-up, Allura.” _

Before he could hang up, Allura quickly got in, “How are you doing? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

Shiro took a few moments before responding.  _ “It’s getting easier to look Adam in the eyes without having the sudden desire to deck him like a Titan in a Crucible match, so that’s nice.” _

“I’ve heard he’s been trying to get back on good terms with you.”

Shiro suddenly gave a groan.  _ “That bastard’s not getting it. It’s over between us, whether he accepts it or not. What he did was unacceptable, and blew up a whole can of worms between us. He’ll have some ultimate luck if we even get on the friendly basis again.” _

“How’s Cayde?”

_ “...Still unresponsive,”  _ Shiro admitted, and his voice calmed down.  _ “Which means Lucy’s barely even cracking a smile anymore. I don’t think anyone in the Vasiliev family besides Talli has genuinely smiled in the past week alone. It’s really depressing to see them being torn apart like this, with the physical and digital attacks on Andal, Cayde not being there and all...” _

Allura sighed. “I wish I could be there to try and help them.”

_ “Don’t. The Eliksni people need you out there. Once you’ve got things under control, then we can start talking about returning to the Alliance.”  _ Shiro’s voice gained a warmer tone.  _ “I have to go. I borrowed a poetry novel from the Commander that I need to return.” _

Allura smiled. “I’m glad to see you’re starting to develop a bond with him beyond the business. Maybe you’ll start calling him ‘Zavala’ soon?”

_ “Har har. Shiro out.”  _ The line went dead after a moment.

Allura let a smile linger on her face before setting aside the communicator. She began to get up, staring up at the Titan sky.

“Allura, Kell of Kells?”

She spun around, bayard yanked off her belt to be clutched in her hand. Somebody in brown clothing was facing her, immediately raising her hands to signal peace. Their helm seemed to resemble a bird’s head.

“How do you know me?” She demanded. “Who are you?”

“I apologize for scaring you,” he said in response. “I realize now that your title isn’t exactly common knowledge at the moment, so I understand your wariness.”

Allura frowned. “‘At the moment’?”

“My name is Osiris, and I believe I may need your help soon.”


	7. Spymaster's Gaze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters in chapter: 
> 
> -Cypress  
> -Sertia Mim  
> -Krolia  
> -Keith  
> -Kamui  
> -Uldren  
> -Nythera  
> -Leo  
> -Jolyon Till  
> -Mara Sov  
> -Petra Venj (mentioned)  
> -Andal Brask (mentioned)  
> -Insurrection's Abyss (mentioned)
> 
> Chapter summary:
> 
> The Blade of Marmora plots how to save both the Dreaming City and Sertia Mim.

Cypress was already quiet beforehand. After Faro’s death, she barely interacted with the other Blades. But now, she had melted into the back of the crowd, completely silent unless spoken to.

It was the second week of the third loop by now, and they still haven’t found where Petra Venj took Sertia. Not even her words of the ‘friends’ she was taking orders from helped their search. The Dreaming City was completely devoid of clues.

Krolia didn’t know what to do. She knew it was her duty as a leader to make sure her subordinates were in peak condition before battle. But it seemed impossible to reach Cypress in this state. All she would do is snarl away from any signs of pity or compassion.

Cypress had run off again to release her anger upon the Taken. Krolia was left standing outside of the cavern mouth, waiting for her to return. It seemed that Cypress was actually willing through the effects of the loop that grounded her to a strict schedule by pure emotion.

“Hey, leader.” Krolia looked to see Kamui walking up.

Krolia only frowned more. “You want to talk about something, do you?”

“I’m thinking about quitting the Blades.”

She paused, and blinked. “You’re what?”

Kamui smiled bitterly. “Cypress is getting too close to my secret for comfort. If she exposes me, it’s game over. I’ll be an outcast, just like Andal is now.”

“You would never be seen the same way Andal is,” Krolia tried to reason.

“Andal killed two people under the temporary control of Fox. How do you think it would go over if people knew a literal clone of the Queen of Valla made by him was within the Alliance ranks? They’ll lose their shit.”

Krolia didn’t really say anything at first. She knew that indeed, the events Kamui feared would come full force if his secret got out. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and he startled a bit, not having expected the physical contact.

“You’ll be alright,” she managed to get out. “I’m trying to do what I attempted with Uldren. Start small with the Blades after you earn their trust, and go from there.”

Kamui gave a dry snort. “Assuming nobody bursts into the Tower and gets the whole Alliance council on my ass like Petra did.”

Krolia’s ears suddenly perked up, and her head turned. After a moment, Kamui heard it too. Footsteps approaching the cavern, light in touch.

“That’s not Cypress,” Krolia stated.

Kamui placed a hand on the blade sheath on his belt. “Who’s there?” He called. “State your name and business!”

After a moment, a voice called back, a small distance away and out of sight. “My name is Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken. And I wish to speak to the Blade of Marmora.”

Kamui paused, and his nose twitched. He glanced over at Krolia, whose face twisted into a frown. She looked back into the cavern, as if debating something in her mind.

Eventually, she turned back. “You may approach!”

After a second, somebody stepped over the bushes and stood before the two. In a way, Mara looked exactly like Kamui imagined she would. White pristine clothes and always having a neutral or frowning expression.

Kamui nudged his head to the cave. “Come on in, I guess.” He turned and stepped into the illuminated darkness.

Jolyon Till and Uldren were crouched in the dirt, talking to each other. Jolyon seemed to be drawing in the dirt with a stick and pointing out things to Uldren, who was nodding while in deep concentration.

“You’ve changed, brother.” Everyone looked up at once as Mara entered.

“No damn way,” Nythera breathed, blinking as if she would suddenly vanish.

Uldren’s mind didn’t register correctly at first. “Do I know...Oh.” His brain clicked mid-sentence. “You’re my sister.” He stood up. “Didn’t actually think you would come to me.”

“You don’t sound excited to see me,” Mara returned.

“My mind is preoccupied with other things.” Uldren waved it off. “Such as finding Petra and the ‘friends’ she spoke of.”

Keith stood up. Forcing a polite smile, he extended a hand. “Keith Kogane. Blade official and Uldren’s significant other. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of you, Keith.” Mara ignored the extended hand, stepping to the side to look at Uldren again. “You date my brother?”

“Well, we’re happy with each other.” Keith shrugged. “We make each other feel special and good about ourselves. I feel those are the basic requirements to be one’s lover.”

Mara still frowned at this. “Yes, yes, I know.”

Leo huffed. “Oh, so you’re THAT kind of person.”

She looked over at the prince. “Excuse me?”

“Nothing.” Leo looked away, a smile beginning to pull at his lips.

“So what brings you here?” Jolyon snarked. “I don’t believe you’re here just for a friendly chat amongst pals.”

Mara huffed. “Indeed I’m not. I’m here to talk about Insurrection’s Abyss.”

Jolyon frowned. “Cypress did talk about that group. It fights against the monarchy in the Umbra Mondo, right?”

“Why are you bringing up Insurrection’s Abyss?” Leo questioned. “I fail to see how they are involved in this causal loop situation.”

Mara rolled her eyes. “They are the ones that took my Acting Regent-Commander from me.”

Uldren paused. “Petra’s ‘friends’.”

Nythera stood up. “The ones she took Sertia Mim to.”

“Hold on,” Krolia quickly said while raising a hand. “We need to get Cypress first. If this involves what happened to Sertia, she’ll want to hear.”

“Don’t bother.” They all looked to see Cypress walking in, smoothing down her clothes while panting a bit. “I’m already here.”

“You look exhausted,” Kamui commented.

“Shut up.” Cypress pointed at Mara. “You. Tell me what happened to Sertia.”

Mara scowled, but still spoke. “Petra Venj now works for the resistance called Insurrection’s Abyss. They’ve recently turned attention to breaking this causal loop, and they’ve found a way to do it.”

“This method being to combine pure darkness and time to override the corruption causing this loop,” Cypress suddenly interrupted. “But the magic will have an excess that needs to be routed to something, or the spell will become unstable, and both of the casters would die.”

“That’s why they needed Sertia then,” Uldren theorized while beginning to pace. “They needed a focal point for the excess magic.”

“Like a closed system,” Kamui suddenly said.

Uldren looked confused. “A what?”

“...You never took high school chemistry?” Kamui held out his two hands. “A closed system is another term for a transfer of energy, but not of matter. For example, the temperature of something can change, but not the physical state of that thing. And the closed system requires specific parts to operate correctly, or it doesn’t work at all.”

“Do I just not exist now?” Mara questioned.

Kamui’s answer was immediate. “Not at the moment, because I am busy pitching my theory on how this focal point stuff works. Kindly shut up.”

Leo tapped a finger to his chin. “So it’s an energy transfer?”

“And more exactly, an energy transfer that exists entirely in of itself. As in, it requires specific things to keep the closed system intact. We’re saying the giver of the energy transfers the excess magic to the focal point, where they want the energy to end. That means that the focal point is required within the closed system to function properly.”

Leo nodded. “Otherwise, the system is not a system, and the energy transfer cannot happen.”

“In other words, spell goes wrong, casters pay the price,” Jolyon summarised. “That’s why the focal point is needed: the energy transfer needs to go somewhere in the closed system.”

“I mean, it is a closed system theory,” Nythera pointed out. “It can’t go to the surroundings if there isn’t a focal point. So the excess magic from this overriding spell has to go somewhere, or it will harm and potentially kill the casters, and the spell may not work.”

“Wow, you actually have a brain in there,” Cypress snarked.

Kamui huffed, but smiled. “I do major in human psychology. I require one to do that.”

“So regardless if they use Sertia or not, if we are to take that route to freeing the Dreaming City, somebody will have to be the focal point,” Leo pointed out. “We can’t skirt around that.”

Krolia put a hand to her chin. “Hm...I see.”

“Thinking of a solution to that, Mom?” Keith asked.

“I’ve got one, but...no.” She dropped her arms. “You guys wouldn’t like it.”

Kamui seemed to flinch at something. He quickly looked away from Krolia, as if realizing her implications.

“Well, I don’t care who it is,” Cypress suddenly said. “It can be any of the Blades. Hell, I’ll be the focal point, even. But I don’t want it to be Sertia, no matter what.”

Mara rolled her eyes. “Sacrificing one of your own for a person you’ve barely known for a few weeks?”

Immediately, Cypress grabbed the pommel of her blade. “I said what I said, Queen. Sertia is not getting hurt on my watch.”

“Don’t start a fight,” Krolia warned. When Mara smiled, their leader merely glared. “I was talking to you, your Highness. I understand Cypress’s anger and grief. If you try to goad her on with those, we aren’t going to get on good terms anytime soon.”

Uldren chuckled. “And here I thought she would want to make a good impression on her amnesiac brother for their first meeting.”

Keith returned the smirk. “I know, right?”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Nythera stood up. “If we are heading out to save Sertia, let’s go get those Insurrection’s Abyss suckers!”

Mara raised a hand. “They are not within the Dreaming City at this time. In order to encounter them, we’ll need to wait for them to return.”

Leo seemed upset by this. “We simply wait for them? We don’t even know when they’ll return, and where!”

Once again, Kamui came in clutch. “Actually, we may do.”

Even Mara seemed surprised. “Well, whenever you speak, you seem to deliver quite enlightening words.”

“Thank you.” Kamui made a small but genuine curtsey. “I have a theory. At the end of the third week is when the Taken curse upon the city is strongest, right? That's our time. Now, what is the most concentrated power location within the Dreaming City?”

“The Blind Well,” Mara immediately answered. When a few looked confused, she explained, “A location that has access to the throne world of Eleusinia. It was once made for the Awoken. It is now controlled by the Taken that once hailed Savathûn. The daughter of said Taken Dûl Incaru resides there during the causal loop events.”

Kamui grinned. “Then that’s our location. If Eleusinia really is the core of the Taken power in this realm the Dreaming City exists in...”

“Then that’s where we’ll find Insurrection’s Abyss.” Leo nodded along. “You really are an intelligent being, Kamui.”

“Oh, please,” Kamui remarked. “That was child’s play. I can do much more than simple theories.”

“But for now, the theories can do,” Keith reasoned. “Is it decided, then? We’ll be heading to the throne world of Eleusinia in about a week and a half’s time?”

Leo smiled in return. “I have always wanted to enter a throne world. This warped Dreaming City does not count, technically.”

Cypress nodded with a serious expression. “Count me in as well. I will do anything to protect Sertia.”

“But we are going to discuss our present problem, yes?” Nythera pointed out. “If we are to save Sertia, who of us will be the focal point?”

“You let me handle that,” Krolia returned. “I can ask through the Blades, see if any are willing to die for the cause, you know, patriotic stuff.”

“Then I guess there’s no argument against it.” Uldren nodded grimly. “We’ll get to the Blind Well, and find Insurrection’s Abyss within Eleusinia.”

The Blade of Marmora began to talk amongst each other. Kamui was already in a passionate discussion of academics with Leo, who was more intrigued than ever about the Vallian semi-clouded in mystery. Cypress began to pace once more as Krolia began asking around. Judging by her expression, she anticipated everyone to volunteer, creating a whole new problem.

Uldren leaned back against the wall, watching everyone. He liked it when the organization was lively with discussion. It made it all feel like some sort of large family gathering.

“Why do you believe that you belong with these people?”

Uldren paused, and turned his head to Mara staring at him. “Sorry?”

“You are not a Blade of Marmora, brother. You are an Awoken prince. You may have made mistakes in the past, but it matters not on a cosmic scale.”

Uldren sighed. “Mara, I killed a man, I got killed, revived as a guardian, and I found my place within the world. I can’t imagine being anywhere else, and I don’t want to.”

“You cannot even think of better tastes?”

At once, Uldren spun on his heel to face Mara. “If you are talking about my choice to love and appreciate the literal goddamn light of my life that has gone through hell and still finds it in himself to love me as the person I am now, by god, blood or not, my fist will find a way to your face.” He pointed at Keith talking to Nythera and Leo at the same time. “Keith Kogane was the very first person I ever met when I was revived as a new man, and he’s been there as much as he could. Where were you, huh?”

“You would never understand my duties.”

“Duties? You mean sitting on your ass in your high and mighty throne world and letting your people suffer? Mara, you’ve let them despair for so long, they thought my arrival was a godsend, and I’m a nationwide criminal in the Reef!”

Mara narrowed her eyes. “You would not know what I have sacrificed to-”

“You wouldn’t know shit about what Keith and I have gone through either, so stop talking about decisions I have made and you cannot control!”

At that, Mara went quiet. Uldren glared daggers at her. Kosmo could read his hostility and began to growl at her as well. His heartrate went up so fast, Pulled Pork actually came out to see what was wrong.

“What did you do?” the Ghost asked his Guardian.

“I merely told her that badmouthing my boyfriend is not the first impression that she should put on me,” Uldren simply replied, trying to stifle his anger.

Mara looked him over again. “You are not the Uldren Sov I know.”

“Good. Because it’s just Uldren.” He turned and stalked away, leaving her standing there in temporary shock.

As he walked away, Kosmo following, he felt a clawed hand gently grab his arm. He could feel Keith’s lips press against his cheek in a kiss. Blinking in surprise, he looked over to see him smiling with his feline ears lowered in embarrassment.

“Thanks,” Keith murmured in gratefulness.

Uldren flushed purple out of embarrassment. “You, um...heard that?”

“And what caused it. I’m very grateful for you standing up for me like that.” Keith then snickered. “Though I could have taken her on myself.”

“Oh, then I’ll let you swing the first punch next time.”

Keith gave another smile, saying nothing else. However, Uldren could see the exhaustion pull at his eyes. This entire ordeal was taking a toll on him. Watching his mother die in front of his eyes twice wasn’t exactly beneficial to his health.

Uldren took Keith’s hand and gently squeezed it in affection. “You need sleep.”

“I want sleep, but I can’t get it.” Keith frowned. “The nightmares are beginning to come back. And when you were missing, I didn’t have anyone to help me through them.”

Uldren felt guilt pull at him every time Keith spoke of the nightmares. About all of the experiments that were conducted on his physical body in the Umbra Mondo. His human ears being cut off and replaced by superhuman hearing, the forceful DNA changing causing rapid fur and fang growth, and the permanent scars and awkward layering on his hands were commonplace within the dreams.

Uldren ran a hand over one of Keith’s hands. Most of the time, Keith could use them just fine. But the fingers couldn’t stretch all of the way properly without some discomfort, causing a constant near-clenching resting pose. He’s also completely lost feeling in parts of his fingers that caused temporary stiffness at times.

Uldren gently kissed his knuckle as Pulled Pork chimed, “Well, never fear! Your dashing prince is here!”

Keith chuckled. “I know, Pulled Pork.” He cut himself off with a yawn. “But it’s still really hard to...”

Uldren sat down against the cavern wall. He gestured to Keith to sit down with him. When he did, he pulled him into a warm embrace, Keith’s head against his chest.

“If you need me, I’ll be right here,” Uldren said softly. “For now, just try and catch up on your rest.”

Keith didn’t argue. In fact, it was like he waited for this all along. He curled up instantly, ears slowly lowering as he drifted off into slumber. After a few moments, Uldren followed, arms becoming slack but still wrapped around his lover.

They had a week and a half left to go. A week and a half left of this nightmare, and if all went well, most of the Blade of Marmora, Jolyon, AND Sertia Mim would be walking away unharmed with the Dreaming City saved. They should probably celebrate the occasion with ice cream.


	8. Beyond Darkness and Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters in chapter:
> 
> -Sertia Mim  
> -Kurami  
> -Redwood  
> -Petra Venj  
> -Parisia  
> -Cypress  
> -Jolyon Till the Rachis  
> -Keith  
> -Uldren  
> -Krolia  
> -Kamui  
> -Leo  
> -Nythera  
> -Kosmo  
> -Pulled Pork  
> -Mara Sov  
> -Shadow King (mentioned)
> 
> Chapter summary:
> 
> The Blades of Marmora and Insurrection's Abyss work together to free the Dreaming City, culminating in a great sacrifice.

Before they had forced their way through the Blind Well, Kurami had turned to Sertia. She asked, “Are you sure you want to do this? I would understand if you want to back down. You don’t need to sacrifice your life for a place you probably don’t like anymore.”

Sertia had nodded. “It is my duty as a Corsair to be ready to give up everything to protect the Dreaming City and the Awoken people. Even if this place gives me nothing but nightmares now, it is still my sworn purpose to give my life for it.”

“Yea, but don’t you have friends that don’t want you to go?”

“...They can live without me, I believe.”

Now, Sertia believed she couldn’t possibly live without them.

The team to enter Eleusinia was a strike team of five. Kurami and Parisia, supposedly the two leaders of Insurrection’s Abyss, two of their soldiers Redwood and Petra, then Sertia herself. The plan was to fight their way into Eleusinia and face Dûl Incaru inside. Once she was dead, the override spell would be cast with Sertia as the focal point, and the Dreaming City would be saved at the expense of her life.

They had managed to enter the Blind Well, and warp into the corrupted throne world. However, the problem began when simply the numbers alone of the Taken began to push them to the brink of exhaustion long before they met Dûl Incaru. And it only got worse when their power began to accelerate with their numbers.

Kurami was able to hold her own the easiest. The young woman was blasting and destroying Taken with her dark magic with ease. Petra and Redwood had a harder time with only their physical weapons, a knife and a gun and a double-bladed scythe, but they were still able to keep their feet on the ground. It was Sertia and Parisia that were severely outclassed.

Sertia was admittedly doing better than Parisia, who was doing everything she can with only an axe. Meanwhile, she had to initiate a spray effect with her pulse rifle just to keep the damn things off of her. But still, both were nearly in the throes of danger if something wasn’t done.

All of a sudden, Sertia hit the ground and screamed. Kurami, now alarmed, whipped her head to look. A bullet had gone straight through her abdomen, and blood was now visible on her Corsair outfit.

“Shit, Sertia!” Kurami yelled.

Petra stabbed a Taken, then turned her head. “Parisia, heal her!”

“I can’t!” The chrono angel replied. “I have my hands full with the Taken trying to rip me apart!”

Redwood looked ahead grimly. “I’ll get her,” he told his wife before running at the Taken about to overrun Sertia.

Meanwhile, Cypress was the very first Blade inside of Eleusinia. Not even thinking of the companions trying to catch up to her, she began to sprint forward with only one goal in mind: Find Sertia. And nobody was going to stop her.

The whispers in the runes were getting louder. They were urging her to tear into the Taken standing in her way. Only the ultimate power would be able to save her friend. And this time around, Cypress was only barely reluctant in not listening.

She immediately braked once she saw the five fighting for their lives. Her eyes scanned the crowd once, then focused on Sertia lying in a puddle of blood and seeming to not move.

Her mind completely shutdown. She said nothing. She didn’t even move at first.

The whispers became a roar in her mind. She thought of nothing else. She accepted the power.

Sertia lifted her head at a shriek. It was not the shriek of a Taken. It was Cypress’s, filled with rage and grief. And before she could look to the side, she saw that same Reploid launch about twenty feet forward to rip a Taken’s head clean off of its body with her bare hands.

Cypress’s irises were a bright violet. A trail of light actually followed her eyes whenever she moved her head. And Sertia could see that the same arm that had the Umbric runes inscribed on them had mutated beyond human.

It looked like a sheet of black rock had covered her left arm. Spikes were jutting out from her shoulder upwards and to the side. Her fingers were now deadly claws. And all veins glowed with a bright violet hue, splitting through the black ‘skin’.

However, that did not keep Sertia’s attention for long. All that mattered was that Cypress was tearing into the entire Taken crowd with nothing but her bare hands. And seeing the amount of desolation, she was actually winning against them all.

Redwood finally made it to Sertia, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Sertia! Are you alright?”

Sertia quickly nodded. “Y-Yea. Just some minor bleeding out. I think I’ll be okay.”

“Minor bleeding out. Okay.” Redwood looked ready to have a nervous breakdown. “I’m going to have to protect you until Parisia can heal you.”

Sertia looked back again at Cypress making quick work of the Taken that had nearly overpowered them. “I don’t think you need to.”

Finally, the other Blade of Marmora members plus Jolyon Till managed to catch up. All of them had their weapons drawn. However, they noticed Cypress was finishing off the last of the Taken, and quickly realized they probably weren’t needed at the moment.

Cypress ripped the last Taken in half, ending the huge onslaught. Breathing deeply, she turned to face everyone now gaping at her. Slowly, she ran her right hand over her left arm, feeling her hardened black skin and the sharp fingertips.

When Keith noticed she seemed focused on her fingers, he raised his own clawed hand. “Welcome to the club,” he snarked.

“Holy shit.” Kamui looked around, then back at Cypress. “You just killed a whole Taken attack. That had to have been a good forty or fifty of them, and you proceeded to one-hit kill them with only your fists.”

“And I’ll do it a thousand times more,” Cypress remarked with determination. “Anything for my friend to be okay.”

As Parisia knelt next to her, Sertia blushed. “Cypress...”

Redwood froze, and refocused on the girl who had just saved them all. “...Cypress?”

She turned to look at him in a confused manner in return. She looked him up and down with a frown. “Have we met?”

He slowly extended a shaky hand. “Redwood. SYB-006.”

Cypress slowly froze up, eyes going wide. “Sent to work at a mining facility. Scrapped when he was injured and nobody wanted to repair him.”

“Let me tell you...it was a real bitch to pull my body out of the ditch they threw me in,” Redwood remarked.

Cypress’s breath caught in her throat again. She stared up at the man unfamiliar in looks but with the exact data of another SYB unit.

Finally, she managed to get out, “What the fuck is going on in my life right now?”

“Focus on that arm first,” Redwood remarked. “What’s going on with that arm?”

Cypress looked at it, then quickly pulled it closer to her body. “Nothing. We can talk later, okay?”

Redwood looked hurt at that. “Cypress-”

She ignored him, shaking her head. Instead, she ran over to Sertia being helped up by Parisia, now completely healed. Without warning, she pulled her into a tight hug.

Sertia looked surprised. “C-Cypress!” She pulled her arms off gently, looking at her left one. “What happened to...?”

“It doesn’t matter. Are you okay?”

“What? Of course I am. I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Yo!” Cypress looked to see Kurami run up, waving a hand in a friendly manner. “You really saved us there, lady! What’s your name?”

“...Cypress.” Cypress lost her smile upon staring at her.

Kurami grinned in return. “Kurami. The leader of Insurrection’s Abyss. Thanks for deciding to drop in at the eleventh hour.”

Before Cypress could say anything, Krolia walked up as well. “We’re here to negotiate on the terms of Sertia Mim’s release.”

Sertia herself looked baffled. “Release?”

Petra crossed her arms, standing a few feet away from Kurami. “Sertia came voluntarily. She’s accepted the role of being the focal point.”

“Krolia, it is my duty to give my life to the Dreaming City as a Corsair,” Sertia reasoned. “You can’t-"

“Everyone!” Parisia suddenly called. “There is no time for conversation!”

Redwood nodded. “She’s right.” Everyone watched as he pointed up at a structure with pieces floating midair. “That spire right there is our destination. It will take us to Dûl Incaru.”

“Quite a long distance,” Nythera remarked. “Anyone got a quick way up?” Nobody spoke up. “Come on, anyone?”

All of a sudden, Kamui raised his hand. “I got one.”

Leo laughed a bit. “What, will you calculate the air velocity of Eleusinia and proceed to jury-rig a launching mechanism?”

“No. But I wish I could do that instead of this.”

Before anyone could say anything, Kamui transformed before their eyes. Instead of being a thin boy, within a second, he was shapeshifting into a sleek silver and blue dragon. Leo’s breath caught the moment he recognized it.

“Corrin?” He wondered out loud.

Kurami suddenly snapped her fingers. “Oh, so THAT’S what happened to the Blood Clone Fox created! I was wondering where it ran off to.”

“Th-The what?!” Keith exclaimed.

“Too long, short version: Fox cloned the Queen of Valla Corrin and that clone later disappeared.” Kurami smiled. “Guess that clone ended up in your ranks.”

Uldren stared at Kamui, as if he didn’t believe it. “Kamui...You were created by...?”

“Let’s talk about that later.” Blue wings with the span of four feet appeared on Parisia’s back. “Let’s hurry to that spire and end this nightmare the Dreaming City is imprisoned in.”

Kurami gave a peace sign, and took Petra and Redwood’s hands. They all teleported away in black smoke while Parisia flew up on her wings. Meanwhile, Nythera and Kamui, both in dragon form, took everyone else on their backs and followed suite into the blackened sky.

Uldren could barely see five feet in front of him as the wind whistled through his hair. It was a miracle that Kamui and Nythera were able to fly without crashing into anything abruptly. Still, until they landed with a thud and jostled them around, he clutched on tight to Kamui’s long neck.

Almost immediately, he had to roll off of Kamui to avoid blasts of ethereal white magic. Shrieking filled his ears and threatened to make him go deaf as he landed on the ground and stared up at Dûl Incaru.

“That’s a huge bitch!” Kurami remarked in a matter-of-factly manner.

“We must cast the spell now, and direct it upon her!” Parisia yelled. “Striking the leader will make a ripple effect outwards!”

“Okay, so don’t kill, but stun and incapacitate!” Nythera reported. “Got it!”

“Everyone, defend Kurami and Parisia!” Uldren commanded.

Everyone readied their weapons as the Taken charged at them, screeching. Kurami and Parisia stepped back to the outer rim of the area while the others met the enemy in full force.

Keith took a couple of steps forward, blade drawn. However, he felt his arm grabbed. He turned his head to see Krolia standing there.

“Mom?” He stared at her.

“I just want to tell you something,” she quickly explained. “A leader must always take the sacrifice before their subordinates can. A leader shouldn’t thrive while their soldiers suffer.”

Keith blinked. “H-Huh?”

Krolia didn’t say anything else. She suddenly ran off towards Kurami and Parisia. Sertia, who was heading over as well, suddenly paused in confusion.

Keith’s blood ran cold, and he sprinted after her. “MOM!”

Uldren, who was holding his Arc staff, paused. He turned to see Keith running after Krolia. He looked confused for a moment, then it clicked in his head.

He reached a hand out. “KROLI-!”

A white hot pain suddenly flared up in his side. He could feel his body fling across the entire area, only skidding to a stop a good forty feet or so away from where he stood.

Grunting, he tried to get up, but it felt like his ribs were on fire. He was forced to lay there, taking deep breaths as Kosmo raced up to him, pressing his nose to his face as if checking over his condition.

Pulled Pork appeared under Kosmo to simulate some form of protection for the Ghost. “You got hit in the side bad! Hold on!”

“Make it quick,” Uldren hissed. “I think Krolia might-”

Dûl Incaru screeched, and Uldren lifted his head. The large Taken had just been engulfed by a blast of black and blue magic, swirling together in a dangerous and destructive miasma. He could faintly hear Krolia screaming in pain, and a sudden curse from Kurami.

“What the f-?!” She began.

The entire area exploded. Everything went white. Uldren could feel his body launched once more, arching through the air but never landing.

He felt like he was falling, tumbling down into an abyss. Kosmo was held close to his chest, and a familiar tug indicated Pulled Pork had retreated to safety within him just in time.

He snapped his eyes open with a gasp. Immediately, he leaned over and hacked up vomit, nauseous from the sudden change in his surroundings. Everything spun as he slowly lifted his head, pale in the face as the light under his skin pulsed faintly.

He was lying in a peaceful part of the Dreaming City. He was surrounded by grass and flowers blowing in a soft breeze. All of the darkness of the third week cycle was gone, vanished to return the area back to its beautiful and glimmering state.

There was a flash of light, and the next thing he knew, Pulled Pork was hovering over his head. “Hey, Uldren! You’re finally awake.”

“H-Huh?” Uldren raised a hand to shield his eyes from the bright sky. “What do you mean?”

“You were out for a while. Kosmo went to go find help, I think. I don’t know. I don’t understand space wolf like Keith can.”

Uldren chuckled. “Keith can’t, Pulled Pork.”

“Well, he certainly knows what Kosmo thinks more than I do!” Pulled Pork laid himself down on Uldren’s chest. “You seemed really out of it, though. And you said a weird name.”

Uldren began to sit up, making Pulled Pork roll off and go back to levitating. “Weird name?”

“Yea. Weil.”

He paused, then placed a hand on his chin. “I don't know that person. Why would I say a name I’ve never heard of?”

“Well, I think you mean Dr. Isaac Weil. He’s a pioneer in cybertechnology!”

Uldren made a small, uninterested noise. “That doesn’t sound familiar. I don’t think-”

There was the sound of footsteps coming close, and Uldren quickly looked up. Kosmo was padding over to him from the bushes. And right behind him was Keith.

Uldren immediately noticed Keith was in a state of great emotion. His entire physical appearance was Galran, and some of his facial fur was wet with tears. His arms were shaking as he walked forward.

Uldren immediately got up on his feet. “K-Keith?”

He didn’t say anything. He threw himself into Uldren’s arms, who almost fell over again from the sudden contact. He managed to stabilise them both on his feet, hugging Keith on a muscle reflex.

“Hey, hey.” Uldren could tell Keith was upset about something. “What’s wrong? Keith?”

“It was Krolia,” Keith murmured. “She was the focal point. She’s gone. There’s not even a body left.”

Uldren froze. His entire world collapsed around him. Keith shaking in his arms became the only thing he could feel. He felt cold and numb, and he realized he himself was trembling.

Krolia was dead. And this time, there was no way to get her back. No reset button in the world could bring her back.

“She wanted Sertia to live,” Keith whimpered. “She wanted all of us to make it. The leader should take the blunt of a sacrifice before the soldiers should.”

Uldren looked up at a noise. Kurami was walking up, her hood down. She looked deeply saddened, almost regretful of what she’s done. And he could see everyone else approaching, but no sign of the other Insurrection’s Abyss members sans Petra, who was next to Jolyon.

“I...didn’t see it,” Kurami softly said, playing with her white locks. “I thought it was Sertia. Parisia and I just...moved into action when we heard footsteps. If I knew it was Krolia, I...I would have hesitated.”

“And that could have ruined the entire spell,” Petra pointed out. Her voice was soft, and had lost its harsh tone. “We did what had to be done.”

Still, Kurami continued on. “I’m sorry. I really am. I never meant to separate a family.” She gave a bitter smile. “Ancient ancestries know that I would never want to inflict that pain on somebody.”

Uldren and Keith said nothing. Slowly, Kosmo began to whine, staring up at the two. Pulled Pork hovered around them, clicking while watching them in deep concern.

When they said nothing, Kurami looked up. “Yo, Mara. Your land’s back to normal.”

Mara looked up as well, arms folded across her chest. “So it seems. No more causal loops?”

“As far as I know. But there’s still one more thing I have left to fix.”

Everyone looked at a gasp. Petra Venj was suddenly brighter in the face. In fact, all of the dark veins and coloring in her sclera were gone. In less than an instant, she was back to her normal self, void of any corruption of darkness.

Petra slowly lifted her hand and inspected her uncovered fingers. “What...?”

“There you go, Venjful.” Kurami gave her a thumbs up while giving her a warm smile. “One ticket to utmost freedom. You’re not controlled by my lil’ coalition anymore.”

Petra looked over at her. “Th-This is...”

“That’s good,” Mara remarked. “I did quite miss my Acting Regent-Commander, alongside my brother.”

Finally, Uldren lifted his head from resting it on Keith’s shoulders. “Huh?”

“Brother, you must see reason.” Mara approached Uldren. “You do not belong with a halfbreed and his-”

The punch came so fast that a single blink could have made you miss it. Uldrem cocked his arm back and slugged Mara right in her nose. The knockback sent her straight onto the ground, hitting her head against the dirt.

Sertia gaped. “Uldren?!”

“How fucking dare you!” Uldren yelled, marching over to her. “Krolia is DEAD! My leader and an important part of my life is DEAD! And NOW you take the time to give me that shit?! The whole spiel about how I don’t ‘belong’ with the family I’ve chosen?!”

Mara sat up, covering her nose. “They are not your family.”

“I don’t give a damn what you think, perched on your high-ass horse and waiting for beings beyond your control to do your dirty work in bettering your own damn city! This ‘halfbreed and his’ whatever you were about to call MY team has done more for me in this past year than what you probably had done for my entire life, whatever it was!”

“Speaking of, you can’t pretend that never happened.”

“I DON’T!” Uldren screamed. “And it KILLS me how I get off scot-free while someone else in the same position as I am gets beaten up in the street when he tries to better himself like I do now! That is a position that whatever you did to me could have brought upon me! I don’t even remember what you did to me. I don’t remember that caused me to be so blindly loyal to a bitch like you that I killed a man that didn’t deserve to die! And frankly, I don’t want to know!”

“What are you saying?” Mara seethed.

“What I’m saying is fuck you. I am not Uldren Sov, Prince of the Awoken. I am Uldren. Blade of Marmora official. The lover of Keith Kogane. And in no way related to you. And I will stand by that.”

Uldren stepped back from Mara, panting a bit. His heart was pounding from adrenaline. He could see droplets of blood fall out of Mara’s nose and into her cupped hand.

Mara sniffled, then wiped away the blood with her sleeve. “Very well, then. I can do without you.”

Uldren smiled. “Good. Go rot in hell.”

Mara rolled her eyes before looking over at Petra. “You can see how foolish he is, right?”

“If anything, you are the foolish one, Mara.” Petra’s voice was icy cold. “I can’t believe I faithfully followed someone like you.”

“What are you saying, Petra Venj?” Mara narrowed her eyes.

“She’s saying you’re a bitch,” Jolyon commented. “And I say likewise. I’m outta here.”

“You go against me?” Mara snarled.

“Well, I don’t wanna be with you,” Jolyon retorted. “The alternative is much more desirable.”

“The same applies for me,” Sertia commented. “There is nothing here for me, Dreaming City or the Reef.”

Mara looked at Jolyon and Sertia as if they were disgusting. Then, she looked to Petra. “You cannot be agreeing with them!”

Petra only smiled. “They make a valid argument, Mara. I have no choice but to.” She turned away. “Now, if you excuse us, we need to get back to the Umbra Mondo.”

Kurami paused. “We? You’re coming back with me? Even after the involuntary enlisting?”

“Honestly, if what Parisia says about Uldren is true...Then it was good to stop me.”

Uldren looked confused. “What she says about me?”

Kurami ignored him, instead looking pleasantly surprised. “Huh...Well, then. Can’t say I’m not surprised. I thought you’ll run off at the first given chance.”

“I’ve got nowhere else to go. Also, besides you, the other members are actually tolerable.”

Kurami made a faux gasp. “You wound me, Venjful!” She then tapped her chin. “Actually, nah. That nickname doesn’t really apply to you anymore. I’m going to need to think of a new one.”

Sertia felt a hand on her arm. She looked over to see Cypress by her side. After a moment, both of them exchanged a set of warm smiles. Perhaps that shopping trip could come to pass after all.

Mara slowly lowered her hand. Then, she looked at Uldren. “You will come to realise that this is a horrible mistake you are making.”

“The worst mistake I’ve made in my life was actually being separated from Keith,” Uldren corrected her. “I will never regret this choice.”

Seeing the hostility, Kamui quickly pulled Uldren’s arm. “T-Time to go.”

Uldren turned and looked at Kamui, and his hardened gaze softened. “You...You really were made by Fox?”

Kamui paused, then slowly lowered his head. “Yea. The whole Acrine Academy thing was a lie. All I’ve been doing is trying to run from my birth.” He began to remove his hand. “I don’t-"

“Do not apologise for where you came from.” Uldren took it. “What matters is your presence in what is happening now. Where you stand, and what you wish to make up for.”

Slowly, a blush came across Kamui’s face. “S-Sir...”

Uldren smiled and ruffled Kamui’s hair in a playful manner. “You’re still Kamui. So what if you’re a clone of the queen of Valla? I think she would be delighted to meet you.”

Kamui paused. “Huh? You think so?”

Leo smiled at him. “Corrin is a very caring person. And King Lumine has been in a position similar to yours before. They’ll understand your plight.”

“Though he is right,” Uldren remarked. “We have to go back home now.” He paused, frowning. “We need to write up a report of...everything that’s happened.”

“Well, what do we do without a leader?” Nythera remarked. “I suppose one of you will have to succeed Krolia’s role.”

Uldren paused, then looked over at Keith. Slowly, he raised his head, trying to blink away tears. He’s been quiet this whole time, still shaking a bit. He’s been petting Kosmo to try and calm himself.

“Keith, do you think you’re in a well-enough position to lead the Blade of Marmora?”

Keith slowly shook his head. “If anything, I need less stress on me.”

Uldren nodded, taking Keith back into his arms. “Then you would prefer me taking control of the Blades?”

“For now.” Keith didn’t meet his eyes, instead looking down at his feet. “For now.”

Uldren pressed a gentle kiss to his hair. “Okay,” he murmured softly. “For now.”

Kurami suddenly snapped her fingers. “Oh, crap! Right! I almost forgot. Are you guys busy after this?”

Cypress looked at her in a confused manner. “What do you mean by busy?”

“Well, if you weren’t planning any other crazy mission, I got a lil’ something to ask of you. I know, I’m not in the position to be asking favors, but Pari girl was really concerned by this.”

Petra looked at her. “Are you talking about the strange fluctuations on Mercury?”

Uldren looked at Kurami. “The what?”

“You heard her, right? There’s been some weird energy readings that Pari girl could sense while she was within this causal loop. She thinks something may be wrong up there. If you guys really don’t mind, a quick checkup will do.”

Uldren merely shrugged. “We’ll think about it. We have to get home first.”

Kurami sadly smiled and gave him a two-fingered salute. “You do that, my dude. You guys have a safe travel back.”

As the woman opened up a portal of darkness for her and Petra to enter, Uldren waved a hand to wave back. “So long.”

Mara was long gone as well. She’s probably returned to her throne world beyond the Oracle Engine. Everybody else began to walk back to the shuttle that brought them here in the first place.

According to the rough estimation, they had spent nine weeks within the Dreaming City. That’s two months, setting them at the end of 620 P.C. The year could even be over already.

All of them have changed, for better or worse. About a quarter of their forces are permanently dead, along with all of Sertia’s Corsair friends. Initially, Uldren worried about her lack of emotion over that. But then he remembered that she’s seen them die repeatedly, and that seeing them go for the final time was probably a relief to both her and them.

Cypress and Kamui have accepted the part of themselves that the enemy had given them. Leo looks unsettled by all of the arguments that had transpired. Nythera’s mind seems to be in a different place entirely. Jolyon looks to be happier with himself at this outcome of events. Sertia could finally see the outside world for the first time in about a year and a half now. Keith tried to put on a brave face, but he could not shift out of his Galra form due to pure grief. And Uldren has finally set in stone who he was and where he wanted to go.

After two months and a week, the Blade of Marmora emerged from the Dreaming City causal loop on December 29th, 620 P.C.


	9. Rise of Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters in chapter:
> 
> -Allura  
> -Silkris  
> -Uldren  
> -Keith  
> -Kamui  
> -Leo  
> -Sertia Mim  
> -Cypress  
> -Keya  
> -Ambrosia  
> -Saint-14  
> -Osiris
> 
> Chapter summary:
> 
> Osiris asks for help about a rather strange problem.

“While I’m surprised to meet you here, I must admit that I’m not unhappy.”

“Likewise, Allura.”

A couple of days after the Dreaming City causal loop was broken and the news of Krolia’s sacrifice was spread worldwide, the Blade of Marmora indeed decided to go to Mercury. Led by their temporary leader Uldren while Keith stayed home for recovery, Sertia decided to tag along for the ride. There, on the planet, they encountered a rather interesting sight.

First of all, there was a strange structure on the surface. It spun and pulsed with the power of chronomancy. It seemed to actually reach into the Walkways and grasp a firm hold on that power to create pathways between timelines all of its own.

Then, there was the large presence of Fallen there. Even more was their brand-new Kell of Kells, none other than Princess Allura of the Alteans. Uldren would say he was surprised, but he did note in the back of his mind that she had been called the White Messiah amidst the alien race for quite some time now.

Uldren gestured to Allura’s entire being. “So how long has this been...a thing?”

Allura smiled. “Two months. Just after the Blades left for the Dreaming City.” She lost her happiness almost immediately, however. “I heard what happened to Krolia.”

Uldren nodded sadly. “Keith’s staying home until he’s had his time to grieve. Until then, I’ll be leading the Blade of Marmora.”

“She will be remembered as a martyr for her soldiers. But don’t you require time to grieve like Keith?”

Uldren looked away, not keen on answering that. “Not as much as he does. We were the only two on an official ranking to take the role, so only one of us could have the time off.”

Allura nodded sadly. “I see.”

They were standing in front of the strange machine on Mercury. Most of their troops, both Blade and Eliksni, were standing by, watching over it like they did.

Allura looked over as somebody walked up. “I did not anticipate the Blade of Marmora coming here, especially so soon after their leader’s passing.”

Uldren looked surprised. “The report was only solidified yesterday. Does news truly travel so fast to Mercury?”

The man shook his head. “Not exactly. My Sundial can make rough pathways into the future and past. They aren’t as stable as the Walkways, but they still help me keep an eye on things outside of Mercury.”

Allura looked at Uldren. “Uldren, this is Osiris. He was the former Warlock Vanguard, but stepped down from his position when he became obsessed with Vex machinations.”

Uldren looked over at the Sundial. “And I believe that’s the fruit of his labor?”

“Indeed,” Osiris remarked. “It was built for a specific purpose, but...Now, it’s just another way to access the power of chronomancy within the universe.”

Allura tilted her head. “And what exactly was this purpose?”

“...It’s unimportant.” Osiris quickly shook his head. “Besides, we have more pressing matters.”

Uldren nodded, already seeming to attempt to piece it together. “Judging by the reports of the time fluctuations, I would say the Sundial is broken or tampered with in some sort of manner?”

To his surprise, Osiris chuckled. “You’re jumping to conclusions. That’s not it at all. Though the Sundial is involved.” He turned to it, putting his hands on his hips. “Lately, I’ve had a little visitor attempting to use it for an unknown purpose.”

“Define little,” Uldren remarked.

“A little girl, always accompanied by a white cat with a necklace. She always seems to know when exactly I turn my attention away from my Sundial, then enters it before I can even try to attempt communication. Her repeated entries seem to have begun to aggravate what Vex are left within the Corridors of Time. However, I’m just worried about the possibility of her getting hurt.”

“So nothing is really wrong?” Allura guessed. “It’s just a little girl?”

“One who seems extremely good with handling the powers of time,” Uldren added with a bit of snark to it. “I want to say she could possibly be a chrono angel.”

“Then should we call Carla to help?” Allura asked.

Uldren shook his head. “Carla isn’t on good terms with the chrono angel society as a whole. We should first figure out if the girl even is a chrono angel, what she is trying to do, then call Carla in if the situation calls for it.”

Allura gave a nod back to him. “That sounds like a plan.” She looked over at Osiris. “Has she entered the Sundial recently?”

“No, not yet.” Osiris then looked at everyone around. “But I’m concerned that such a large crowd could scare her off.”

“Then maybe we can pretend that we’re leaving on a mission,” Uldren volunteered. “However, we can lay in hiding and wait for her to come along.”

Allura nodded in agreement. “A good idea. I’ll begin to round up my soldiers.”

Uldren and Osiris watched as the woman turned and walked off. She began chittering in surprisingly fluent Eliksni to her troops. They began to move, picking up the weapons and items they had laid down while relaxing in place.

Uldren looked over at Osiris. “I’ll get the Blade of Marmora to move into the shrubbery as well.”

Osiris probably was smiling underneath the cloth on the lower half of his face. “Thank you for your aid. I just want to make sure the girl is okay.”

“I understand that,” Uldren remarked while hooking his thumb under his belt while slouching to the side. “Some strange kid starts using a dangerous, Vex-involved method for travelling between the timelines? Who wouldn’t worry?”

“I’m also worried about the visible lack of parental figures,” Osiris continued. “This child is clearly alone with only her feline companion for company.”

Uldren couldn’t help but laugh. “If you’re that worried for the girl, why don’t you try and adopt her already?”

Osiris couldn’t help but laugh as well as Uldren began to turn away. “I doubt someone as introverted as she seems to be will like any sort of ‘adoption’ in the near future.”

Sertia was playing with Silkris, the small Eliksni that had imprinted upon Allura. She was absolutely overjoyed to interact with the small hatchling, but was also careful to not harm him. She repeatedly made cooing noises while waving around his doll, making him chitter with happiness.

Cypress watched her with a smile. “Having fun?”

“This is so fun!” Sertia replied before looking up at her. “You should try.”

Cypress only laughed a bit. “With my arm the way it is, I think I’ll only scare the small thing.”

Sertia took a glance at Cypress’s left arm. It had never returned to its normal human form since she had accepted the full power of the Umbric runes. Instead, it seemed to permanently be hardened into black, jagged spikes with wicked claws. Cypress didn’t mind, but Sertia worried about the possibility of it spreading.

Uldren walked up to both of the girls. “How are we settling in?”

“Just fine,” Cypress answered. “However, I wish we can spend our New Year’s Eve elsewhere.”

Uldren seemed to just realize what day it was. “Oh. It is New Year’s Eve. I completely forgot.”

Sertia gave him a teasing smile. “So caught up in work, are we?”

“I guess I am,” Uldren admitted. “It’s just that...with the sudden promotion to Marmora leader and all, I’m now on the Alliance council. I’m now one of the multiple people that decides entire war plans for not just the Blades, but this government as a whole. I’m also the de facto leader of the Reef, now that the matriarchy has been almost completely dissolved.” Uldren heaved a heavy sigh. “I wouldn’t say that I’m incapable of the tasks I have to perform now, but it is a bit on the stressful side.”

“You make it sound like you’re doing this alone,” Cypress commented. “You have the loyalty of the Blade of Marmora, and what militia remains in the Reef. As the representative for both of these communities within the council, we give you our support through the harsher times, like now.”

“And also gentle reminders to not do anything rash or stupid,” Sertia added. “Your actions probably have much more weight now than they used to. Not only are you gonna have to fight on the battlefield, you’ve entered the minefield of politics.”

“Is it really that bad to compare it to a minefield?” Uldren questioned.

Cypress gave a small chuckle. “Throw in a couple of railguns constantly pointed at you and ready to shoot if one error is made on your behalf, and that’s a more accurate depiction. The fact that corruption is not only common in politics, but expected by many, is a grim reminder that a single choice that you make could very well be career-ending.”

“I’m expected to have a miraculously clean slate?” Uldren seemed cross with this. “I killed a man!”

“Which is why winning over the Guardian side of the Tower would be a miracle and a half,” Sertia remarked. “You could very well be a controversial addition to the council.”

Uldren looked even more worried than before. “Wow, thanks for alleviating my concerns with political paranoia.” He quickly cleared his throat. “I’m giving out the order to hide out amongst the border of the Sundial. The problems Petra talked about are coming from a visitor Osiris has been trying to catch.”

“Camouflage. Got it, sir.” Sertia stood up, gently picking up Silkris’s backpack and placing it on her back.

Uldren looked surprised. “Sir?”

“Blade of Marmora or not, I am seeking to enter the Alliance as a normal soldier. And since you are on the council, that places you at a higher rank than me.”

As Sertia walked away, Uldren seemed to nod to himself. “Sir...yea, I like that.”

“Don’t let it get to your head,” Cypress teased before following Sertia close behind.

The Blade of Marmora and the Eliksni dispersed, vanishing into the nearby rocky outcroppings and forestry. Slowly, they crouched into hiding, holding their breaths. It was impossible to tell when the girl felt comfortable enough to emerge from her hiding place.

After a good twenty minutes or so, Keya believed everyone was gone. She slowly stepped over the bushes in front of her, Ambrosia slinking around them behind her. Both made sure to be as quiet as possible, in case anyone was within listening range.

Her clothes were ragged and dirty, her scarf having a particularly large tear in it. Her hat was scuffed with mud, and her knees were bruised and scabby. Her journey to find her family has never been kind to her.

Shion did not welcome her when she was rendered alone again. Once more, she was ostracized, left on the streets with barely any ability to conduct her chrono magic. She was a pathetic excuse for an angel, even more useless than their nebula angel counterparts. She didn’t even know how to summon forth her wings.

She could only bear a few months before leaving on her own. She refused to just sit by while her only loved ones could be in mortal danger. However, once she used the Walkways to enter a timeline that attracted her with its light, she realized that she did not know how to get back at all. She does remember times where great emotions and necessity for survival yanked her into other times, but she always ended up back within this “main” timeline.

Her only company these past six years has been her feline companion Ambrosia. She did attempt to engage in small talk with others within the timeline, but her social skills rendered her practically mute and weird to others. They tended to mistake her as a lonely homeless girl who didn’t even know basic English, which was very rude. She probably knew more words from the dictionary than them!

But her travels, near-death experiences, and studying has led her to here. This Sundial supposedly could connect to the Walkways. If she could just figure out how to use it properly, she could get back there and return to Shion, where she had less of a chance of dying. She could beg for food there instead of scrounging in the grass, then throwing it up later.

She descended down the small slope to the spinning monolith. Ambrosia sat down next to her once she stopped, and began grooming himself. Unlike her, he was as sleek and beautiful as ever, while her hair was a wild rat’s nest under her hat.

At the Sundial, Keya adjusted her hat to get a better vision of it. Weak and useless as she was, she’s begun to learn how to harness the Sundial. Recent experiments with it have almost yielded the results she wanted, but that man with the bird mask kept scaring her away. And now he had friends, so she needed to be extra careful.

Keya walked over to the strange control panel of the Sundial. She’s learned by now that it can be powered by some sort of glowing cube-like fragments. If she’s heard the bird mask man right, they’re called fractalines. She’s been able to get them from being scattered all around Mercury, left behind by Guardians spelunking around for fun. She’s been dedicating most of her time to collecting these fractalines, then proceeding to run the Sundial when the bird mask man was gone to try again.

She placed the fractaline into the control panel, then stepped back. As many times before, the Sundial began to human with power. It reached out into the chrono magic of Timeline Prime, beginning to force open a pathway into the Corridors of Time.

Ambrosia suddenly hissed in warning. Keya turned, cursing in the back of her brain. The bird mask man has returned so soon? Or has he been waiting all along?

He and all of his new friends were there. There were so many of them, and they were coming from all directions. Keya could not possibly outrun all of them.

As always, the man tried to speak softly to her. “Little girl, I just want to talk to you. I can tell you are scared of me, but you have no reason to.”

Keya tried to sound snarky, but her voice gave out on her, and it quivered. “S-So you have...a-armed people with you...”

“We’re scaring her,” somebody with blonde hair and a cold tone of voice pointed out as if it was common knowledge. “She’s just a child. Not all of us should have approached her at once.”

Keya really wanted to throw rocks in his face. She wasn’t a child. Her growth was just stunted. She was about sixteen or so now. She didn’t have a birthday, so she didn’t know for sure.

She didn’t like the bird mask man’s friends. They seemed scary and threatening. They had such huge and looming weapons. They weren’t as freaky as the hulking and pale things she’s seen crawling around the places she’s gone to, but they’re still armed and ready to hurt her.

Keya stepped back, picking up Ambrosia and hugging him close. “Go away!”

“Little girl, you’re only going to hurt yourself.” Again with this talk. When will the bird mask man let her go back to the Walkways? “I’m sure that whatever you are looking for, we can find it in some other manner.”

He wouldn’t understand. He couldn't possibly. Keya has lost a family once before. And now she’s putting everything on the line to try and save her second one.

“No!” Before anyone could stop her, Keya rushed towards the Sundial with Ambrosia in tow.

There was yelling, and she could hear footsteps fast approaching. The Sundial’s entrance was open now. With a leap of faith she has practiced now, Keya entered.

The Corridors of Time welcomed the small chrono angel. At once, her feet hit the white ground perfectly, like a practiced movement. In the next moment, the entrance behind her closed. She was rendered alone with Ambrosia in less than a second.

Idly, she reached a hand to pet him. “We did it,” she murmured. “Came here again.”

Ambrosia mewed up at her. He seemed to ask why they kept coming.

“This is the only way I know back to the Walkways,” she answered. “I’m not going to give up on getting home.”

Another meow. There was no home in Shion.

“I know, but it’s the closest thing I have to one.” Keya began walking, smoothing her skirt. “At least there my life isn’t constantly threatened by alien lifeforms.”

The Corridors of Time acted a lot like the Walkways. It shifted, showing entryways to the past and future. But it only connected to timelines related to the one the Sundial was set into. It could only see the past and future, not alternate paths. It could be used to create an alternate path, but there wasn’t a way to cross into a world like that.

Keya looked around to make sure she was alone. Some pesky robots liked to chase her around, armed with guns and a gleaming red eye. They never hurt her, but they were always interested in her whenever she was nearby. She always managed to outrun them in the end. However, there’s been a few times where they had nearly snagged onto her.

This time around, there seemed to be no scary robots. At first, at least. Keya never knew when and where they emerged.

Navigating the Corridors of Time has become an easy process. She knew exactly where to go to get to anywhere she wanted. But she’s never found the route she needed.

For now, Keya went to the right. Still no signs of the enemy, even as she slipped through the gates of time to enter another area. They’ve been quieter than normal recently. She would be happy, save for the dreadful feeling it gave her.

Not to her surprise, the path did not lead her to the Walkways. Instead, it directed her once more to that person she liked to watch. That strange silver man that likes to headbutt things.

She landed in a different setting on some other planet. However, she knew this was also a completely separate time period. The corpses of the big turtles were strewn around her, showing a line of mayhem she knew only one person would cause. Without any fear, she pressed forward to follow the trail.

As she suspected, she found herself on top of a ridge. She was looking down into a small valley with the only way up being a steep incline. The gleam of silver armor alerted her to someone the exact time they threw the purple magic shield they had with them at the last live big turtle. They went down in a single hit, and the shield returned to the owner’s side.

The silver man was now standing amidst the corpses of his enemies. However, Keya had no way of identifying if he was the hero of the situation or not. One visual can have a different truth entirely to it.

So she’s never approached the silver man. Instead, she’s watched his deeds from afar, never judging, but always surveying. He probably never even knew she was there, and she would like it to stay that way preferably.

With the enemy vanquished, the silver man’s shield vanished. He seemed to say something to himself out of Keya’s range of hearing, but she saw the way he nodded. He seems to have decided to do something, having debated with himself on it for a moment.

From his inventory, she watched him pull out something that fit into his hand almost perfectly. He laid down a small purple rag, then placed the item on top. After a moment, he added a second, smaller item. After seeming to survey the little pack of items now, he turned and left, leaving them lying there.

After a few minutes, Keya’s curiosity got the better of her. Descending the slope, she slid down the incline in her worn shoes, making sure to stabilize herself. Ambrosia clutched onto her head, keeping himself stable on his favorite perching spot.

Keya checked again. There was no sign of the silver man. She darted over to the collection of items on the ground, then crouched down to investigate.

The purple rag displayed two fruits on it. One was bright red with a brown stem. Keya believes it’s an apple. She’s had them a few times before. The other was a small pile of diced up yellow slices. It was a banana. But it didn’t seem to be the whole thing.

Keya didn’t want to take the food. But Ambrosia was already leaping off of her head to attack the banana slices. And her stomach was growling at the thought of devouring the apple. So with another glance around to make double sure the silver man was gone, she picked up the apple with trembling hands.

She pulled down the worn and dirty scarf around her mouth and bit into the apple. She almost cried from how fresh and juicy it was. She began to eat it as fast as possible as Ambrosia almost inhaled the banana slices.

“Yes! Little bord and companion like the gift!”

Keya froze and turned her head. The silver man, who had just been crouching in the bushes this whole time, had thrown his fists in the air in victory. Even with a helmet on, she saw the moment he realized that alerting her to his position was most likely the worst thing he could have done.

He slowly lowered his arms as they both stared at each other. Even Ambrosia had stopped devouring the banana slices to focus his gaze at the silver man.

“Um...hello, little bord.” He waved hello.

Keya dropped the apple, and picked up Ambrosia. She began scrambling up the steep incline as fast as her little legs would take her. Ambrosia, startled by the sudden movement, began to yowl and claw at her.

Both the thrashing in her arms and the incline threw her completely off balance. With a yelp, she smacked backwards into the dirt. She could feel her head hit a rock, and a blinding white pain entered her noggin.

Ambrosia managed to wiggle out of her arms and landed perfectly. Keya, however, laid facedown in the dirt and unmoving, with her hat knocked aside to reveal a particularly pointed strand of hair curving upwards from the top of her head.

Keya was in an untold amount of pain. Six years of constantly running and hiding takes its toll on a body physically unable to grow past the height of an elementary schooler. This had been the breaking point she had feared of this whole time.

Parisia was right. She contributed nothing to the entire family. Carla and Andal have probably gotten home by now. They probably don’t even miss her. She took up too much room, didn’t she...

Just a few feet away, Osiris blinked in shock. He had skidded down into the small valley to find the girl they had been chasing bleeding from a head wound and being wrapped up in a thick blanket by the long-dead Saint-14. Even the Exo had frozen abruptly to look at the sudden arrival of others.

“Holy shit,” Uldren whispered behind Osiris.

Allura was more focused on the small girl. “Th-The little girl! Is she alright?!”

Saint-14 regained his voice. “Little bord is alright. The head wound is just a scratch. It looks worse than it is.”

“It seems she had just reached the physical limitations of her body,” Leo theorized.

Osiris still said nothing. He stepped forward, as if to study Saint. He stood up as well, carrying the girl in his arms while her cat companion sat by his feet.

“Osiris?” Saint-14 questioned.

“Saint-14,” Osiris returned with wonder in his voice. “Was the girl’s goal to lead me to you?”

“I do not understand what you mean.” Saint looked at the sleeping girl. “I have seen little bord many times. She watches me, but never approaches me. I wanted to see if she was well. Instead, I scared her by accident, and she hurt herself trying to run away.”

“Tripped on the incline, I believe?” Kamui guessed. “Then she probably cut her head open from one of these rocks.”

Osiris shook his head. “Saint, you do not understand. I don’t think you could. I’ve been looking for you for centuries. And now you tell me this girl found you the moment she started using my Sundial?”

“Centuries? Sundial?” Saint looked confused, but chuckled. “Osiris, you speak nonsense. It has not been centuries since we last met. And there is no such thing as the Sundial.” Then, he looked over. “Why is the Prince of the Reef with you?”

Uldren’s eyes widened. “How far into the past are we, Osiris?”

“Centuries. This is Saint-14.”

Jolyon looked in awe. “The one they call the greatest Titan who ever lived?”

Saint tilted his head. He surveyed the crowd again. He took into detail the armor most of them wore. He also observed the Eliksni clothing Allura wore, slowly scanning her body.

“Osiris, what is going on?” To Uldren’s amazement, Saint sounded more tired than shocked.

Saint refused to let anybody else carry the girl. It’s like he’s already gotten profusely attached to her. And her cat seemed just fine with him as well, riding on one of his shoulders with mild comfort.

As they went back the way they came, Osiris tried to explain to Saint what was happened as best as he could. However, every explanation brought more questions, and soon enough, he was completely sidetracked from the most important details to answer questions about insignificant ones. Uldren could see frustration on Osiris’s brow, and it made him stifle a laugh.

Emerging from the Corridors of Time, Osiris quickly realigned his explanation to the Kell of Kells situation. Saint had almost dropped the girl to pull a shotgun out once he noticed the large crowd of Eliksni. It took a severe amount of convincing from both Allura and Osiris to talk him down.

As the argument about the Eliksni boiled down, Sertia inspected the girl’s wounds. To their relief, she came up with the results of none of them being fatal or detrimental in any way. The girl had merely fallen asleep after being dazed by the fall from the incline. However, she was suffering from severe malnourishment, body aches, and lack of proper sleep. In fact, Sertia could safely conclude she was suffering from a severe case of stunted growth: she could possibly not be a child at all, but just looks like one.

After bandaging the wounds, the girl was placed in an extremely fluffy blanket. Her clothes were all torn up, so it would be best to find some replacements for her soon. Her hat was discarded altogether so they could bandage her head properly.

As the Sundial stopped spinning, Leo crossed his arms. “You know what this means?”

Kamui looked up from opening his ration pack. “Eh?”

“The Sundial led us to a long-dead man named Saint-14.” Kamui unwrapped a ration bar as Leo began to pace. “It very well has the ability to revive the dead.”

“Uh-huh.” Kamui held out the bar to the girl’s cat.

He smiled as the cat began to eat, Leo turning around. “Do you understand what I’m going at, or do I have to spell it out for you?”

Kamui never lost his smile. “You don’t need to. It will never work.”

Leo paused. “What?”

“Timeline Prime is the only timeline like it. There’s no past and future of us: only the present. Time travelling is impossible because of how exclusive we are.” Kamui turned his head to Leo, still smiling. “If you want to use that Sundial to revive Takumi, give up now. It won’t work.”

“Hey, everyone!” Both looked at Uldren calling. “We’re heading back to the Alliance! If we leave now, we can get back for New Year’s celebration!”

Kamui got up, leaving the rest of the bar on the ground for the cat to chew. “Well, time to go, I guess. There’s no reason for us to stay.”

Leo looked crestfallen. He stole another glance at the Sundial. “But-”

“But stop.” Kamui’s expression suddenly darkened. “Don’t let the regrets of the past consume your everyday life. You don’t need to move on. But you do need to stop holding on. Let go.”

Leo stood there as Kamui turned and walked away. He looked down at the cat, who was gulping up the last remains of the bar and looked at him for more. His necklace of a jade coin glimmered in the light of Mercury as he licked his lips.

“You aren’t getting more,” Leo told him. “Go beg from Saint.”

The cat seemed to actually understand him. Getting up, he padded away to the armored Exo still cradling the wrapped up girl protectively. He hasn’t even looked to let her go since they arrived.

Allura wasn’t going to return to the Alliance yet. She was heading back to Titan to take along the House of World Life with her back home to safer grounds. However, she did ask Uldren to tell her Voltron friends hello, and that she was heading back soon.

Saint and Osiris themselves will stay on Mercury with the girl. She wasn’t even keen on talking to one person; waking up in an entire city could make her freak out again. They promised that they will take good care of her and her cat, and that they will bring her to the Last City once she’s capable enough.

Both Saint and Osiris settled up against a rock. Both the cat and the girl were asleep soundly in Saint’s arms. Osiris was reaching over to gently pet the cat, who was purring with the touch. Both of them had their helmets off to show the human and Exo underneath.

“When you saw her watching you so many times,” Osiris asked. “Did you really come up with only the nickname ‘little bird’?”

“I did not dare approach her to ask,” Saint answered. “I wanted little bord to know I was not a threat before I tried anything. While it may have only been days on her end, it was years on mine.”

“She’s been giving me more grey hairs than you ever did,” Osiris commented. “I kept worrying that she could get herself hurt like this, and nobody would be there to help her. She is just a little girl, after all.”

“Little, perhaps. A girl, no. This is a firey phoenix entrapped in a too-small body to burn properly, so she either smothers or incinerates herself. Her physical state is a testimony to that.”

The little bird shifted slightly in her blanket. She was beginning to stir for a moment. However, she pulled the blankets closer and went back to a deep sleep. Nothing but a long recovery awaited her.

“I wonder who made this necklace.” Osiris moved his hand to gently rub the red cord of the necklace around the cat’s neck. “It seems familiar.”

“Yes, it does. I think I’ve seen a coin like that in a bar somewhere before. It seems to be of very good craftsmanship.”


	10. Ex. Chapter: Cyber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters in chapter:
> 
> -Parisia  
> -Petra  
> -Kurami (mentioned)  
> -Spoiler characters
> 
> Chapter summary:
> 
> ???

**Insurrection’s Abyss Inbox**

**Sent: 0**

**Received: 1**

**Opening received communication lines...**

**To: Kurami Ballatori [Routed to Petra Venj for proofreading and/or threat determination]**

**Sent: January 25th, 621 P.C., 3:32 PM**

**Subject: None**

**Contents: 1 audio file.**

**Playing audio file...**

_ “Come on, come on, come on...Fuck you! Fuck this stupid shit! I-I can’t...Fuck! _

_ “No...deep breaths, Fuyuhiko...Th-This is going to the resistance leader. Got a few seconds...make it count. _

_ “Listen, it’s me. Fuyuhiko. I need you to listen to me. Pass it along to Wu Ming, if you can. I doubt you can reach him...Motherfucker doesn’t even have a goddamn email address. _

_ “We failed. We didn’t get him. We thought we did, but we didn’t. He’s been quiet these past few months, but Fox reactivated him! He’s fucking back! He’s got my siblings! He...He fucking killed Father! Aki and Nagito are now running, and I’m trying to give them time! _

_ “Please god, I beg you! Please help me! You owe me! PLEASE HELP ME! _

_ “...No...No no no no, Sonia, it’s me! It’s your brother! Fu-GYAAAAAAAAAGH!! SONIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” _

**End of audio file.**

**Opening text chat...**

**Text chat with Parisia Blackmarr open.**

**PV, 3:02 AM: Are you free for the moment?**

**PB, 3:03 AM: I still need to review the losses of the recent skirmishes with the Shadow King, so it depends. What do you need?**

**PV, 3:05 AM: Need you to hear this. It’s important. [Audio File added to text.]**

**PB, 3:08 AM: Delete it**

**PV, 3:08 AM: Without sending it to Kurami or Wu Ming?**

**PB, 3:10 AM: 1. The Cyber Elves are not the problem of Insurrection’s Abyss.**

**2\. We don’t even have enough to spare to help them.**

**3\. Fuyuhiko expected to carry out a deed he will not be rewarded for. That was the deal**

**PV, 3:11 AM: Okay, but we still don’t even tell Kurami? Our leader?**

**PB, 3:13 AM: You know how Kurami is. She’s a family woman. She would go in guns blazing, and the only thing we would gain is more bodies for burial.**

**PV, 3:13 AM: I guess you have a point**

**PB, 3:14 AM: Do you have Wu Ming’s contact?**

**PV, 3:14 AM: Only Kurami, so if we would contact him about this, we would need to tell her**

**PB, 3:15 AM: True**

**PB, 3:15 AM: Damn**

**PV, 3:16 AM: Couldn’t this come back to bite us tho?**

**PB, 3:17 AM: Petra, we’re at rock bottom. How worse can it get**

**PV, 3:18 AM: Depends if we’ve decided to start digging with our hands or pickaxes**

**PV, 3:19 AM: You still have a point, tho, I’ll delete the email**

**PB, 3:20 AM: Don’t worry, once word gets to the Alliance, they’ll have the situation covered.**

**PV, 3:20 AM: Got it**

**Moving communication line to recycle bin...**

**Emptying recycle bin...**

**Recycle bin emptied.**

**Opening Solitaire...**


End file.
